VATICAN CITY — Women religious have an essential role in the process of creating a more synodal church and in preparations for the Synod of Bishops, not j
Pope Francis greets the recently freed Sr. Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti at the Vatican, Oct. 10, 2021. / Vatican Media.Vatican City, Oct 10, 2021 / 07:40 am (CNA).Pope Francis greeted a Colombian nun on Sunday, shortly after she was freed four years after being kidnapped by Islamists in Mali.The pope blessed Sr. Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti before a Mass in St. Peter s Basilica launching a worldwide synodal process.Vatican Media.Sr. Gloria, a member of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, was kidnapped in southern Mali in 2017.The Malian presidency announced that she was released on Oct. 9 after "four years and eight months of combined efforts of several intelligence services."It posted photographs on social media of her meeting with interim president Col. Assimi Goïta, accompanied by Cardinal Jean Zerbo of Bamako."We prayed a lot for her release. I thank the Malian authorities and other good people who made this release possible," the