The priest ordeal

“He made me sit in a chair near the security room, near the main gate of the campus of the institution. The leader of the attackers brought out two sisters first, and went back again and brought another two sisters to near the main gate.”

“He went and looked for the fifth sister, but could not trace her on the campus.

“Then he returned back to the place near the main gate, where the sisters were being held.”

“Then he took two sisters first, moved them to some distance out of my sight and shot them, then he came back and took the other two in my vicinity and shot them.”

“Then he took me and put me in the boot of the car, which they parked near the campus, and closed the door of the boot of the car,” Uzhunnalil said.

“He entered the sister’s chapel, brought the tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament in it and threw it in the boot of the car. They drove away with me in it.”

That sacred relic would continue to be a source of great comfort to Uzhunnalil throughout his ordeal, which saw his health deteriorate. In an impassioned video appeal made to the world last May, Uzhunnalil implored the international community to work towards his release.

“When I was in Aden, I used to weigh 82 kilograms (kg) and after my release, when I checked my weight, I was 55 kg. Now, with the food and medicines that I am taking for the last two days, I am improving,” Uzhunnalil added.

He also spoke about the day he was released. “Those who kept me came to where I slept and said, ‘I bring you good news. We are sending you home. If you need to go to the bathroom, go. Take a shower, but quickly.”

“Why they did not kill me, why they didn’t tie my hands, I don’t know,” he added. Soon after his arrival in Muscat, Uzhunnalil was flown to Rome, where he had a heartfelt meeting with Pope Francis and the senior Vatican clergy.

“My meeting with Pope Francis was a big grace bestowed on me because of my captivity,” he recalled. “I wept profusely before him, sharing with him my experience. He was so sympathetic, compassionate and concerned and he kissed my hand twice.”

Uzhunnalil now plans to travel to India, to meet family and his supporters.

“I would definitely love to get back to India and thank all the people and meet all my people, but I shall wait until the doctors certify that I am fit to travel.”