Kolkata: Seven Sundays ago a small and closely-knit family that had plunged into a crisis had sent up a silent prayer for their daughter at the doorsteps of a church.
Six weeks later the family was back in the same church, this time to express their gratitude not only for the divine intervention that ensured the safe release of their daughter but the hope the faith instilled within the family at the hour of the crisis.
Judith D’Souza’s mother and sister attended the Sunday prayers at Shrine of Our lady Of Fatima Church in the morning. Judith, 40, was rescued on Friday after staying in captivity in Afghanistan for 44 days. She reached Kolkata on Sunday evening. Several people in the congregation came forward and congratulated them on Judith’s return.
Judith’s mother Lawrence had a calm expression on her face throughout which revealed little about the turmoil that she went through ever since her daughter was abducted on June 9.
It is hard to fathom for anybody the emotional upheaval inside a mother whose young daughter has been in captivity for weeks in a hostile terrain. It is even more difficult to understand how despite the uncertainty over her daughter’s safety she managed to keep her family from losing hope and falling apart. On Sunday morning, as she stood inside the church with her head bowed and hands folded in prayer, she passed her threshold.
“I want to see my daughter. I want to hold her close to my heart,” said a very emotional Lawrence while leaving the church.
Several devotees at the church on Sunday morning had never met or seen Judith but almost everybody sent out a prayer of gratitude. Many stepped ahead and congratulated the family on Judith’s safe return.
“We do not know the family personally but we have heard and read about what they have gone through in the past few weeks. A daughter is coming back and we are grateful to the Lord,” said Shipra Christine Biswas, a resident of Linton Street.
While brother Jerome kept in constant touch with officials of the ministry of external affairs for his sister’s safe return and kept the movement on social media alive, elder sister Agnes was left with the responsibility to take care of her parents along with her job as a teacher, The Times of India reported.
Agnes, who had been firm with intruders from day one of her sister’s abduction, never broke down in public even as the ray of hope got dimmer.
Her facial expressions on Sunday morning hardly betrayed her emotions.
“We are of course ecstatic that Judith is back. We are also grateful to the Indian government, Sushma Swaraj ji and Manpreet Vohra ji for my sister’s safe release,” said Agnes, after the Sunday prayers.
The family was taken by surprise at the support and concern it received after Judith was abducted. Friends on social media floated forums to exert pressure on the government to expedite Judith’s release. A day after Judith was abducted St. Anthony’s Church had announced that their evening service would be devoted to prayers for the safe return of Judith D’Souza.