On Tuesday night last,  Father Pierluigi Maccalli, a member of the Society of African Missions was kidnapped by a jihadist group in Nigeria in the region of Niamey.

Father Mauro Armanino who is another missionary in Africa notified the Fides news-agency of the incident.  He highlighted that the region has been in danger for some months due to the presence of indigenous terrorists from Mali and Burkina Faso.

Father Maccalli was originally a member of the clergy of the Diocese of Crema, a diocese that belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Milan. He has worked for many years as a missionary in the Ivory Coast. Before his abduction, he was working in the parish of Momoanga in Niamey where he was actively involved in in evangelisation, youth education, and the administration of dispensaries. He also looked after the formation of young agronomists.

The region that Fr Maccalli lived in is very deprived. Inhabitants struggle because there is insufficient drinking water. Most of the people are employed in agriculture and literacy levels are extremely low. In addition, the region is isolated from the other inhabited areas because a proper roads infrastructure does not exist.

Source, photo: AIS