Sister Suellen Tennyson, a member of the Congregation of the Marianites of Holy Cross, who was abducted in Burkina Faso April 4, 2022. / Diocese of Kaya.
According to her community and the local diocese, an American religious sister serving in Burkina Faso who was abducted in April is free and secure after almost five months in captivity.
Since 2014, Suellen Tennyson, a native of New Orleans, has worked in a missionary outpost in northern Burkina Faso. She was seized on April 5 from the little house she lived with two other members of her congregation, the Marianites of Holy Cross, by unidentified armed men. She was reportedly taken barefoot, and she left her glasses and blood pressure medicine behind.
The current congregational head of the Marianites, Sister Ann Lacour, stated on August 30 that Tennyson is now safe and in the custody of U.S. authorities. The FBI had issued a missing person alert for the sister, but there had been no word on her whereabouts or state until last week.
“She is safe,” Lacour told the Clarion Herald, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. “She is on American soil, but not in America. She is safe. She was recovered (Monday) morning. We have spoken to her. She eventually will get back to the United States.”
According to the BBC, on August 31 Bishop Theophile Nare of Kaya issued a statement stating that Tennyson is presently “in a safe place and in good health.”
A 2011 trip to Burkina Faso inspired Tennyson, a former worldwide leader of her church, to establish a missionary outpost in the area. Her church asked for continuous prayers for Tennyson’s recovery and privacy until she is able to discuss her story publicly.
“We are so very grateful for ALL the prayers and support these past 5 months. We now ask you to pray for Suellen’s complete renewal of body, mind and spirit,” an Aug. 31 Facebook post from Tennyson’s congregation reads.
“She has requested privacy – PLEASE respect her need for time and let her be the one to reach out to you when she is ready. Let the fact that she is safe be your consolation…God does great things for us!”
Despite the fact that three Marianite sisters were living in the Burkina Faso home at the time of the invasion, only Tennyson was taken captive. In the attack, Sister Pauline Drouin, a nurse from Quebec, and Sister Pascaline Tougma, a nun from Burkina Faso, escaped unharmed. Lacour stated that she believes the gunmen were seeking money and medicine.
The Clarion Herald reported that Lacour stated the Marianites contacted both the U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso and the U.S. State Department and were assured this was a “high priority case for them.” Tuesday, the U.S. military disclosed that American special operations forces recently rescued a hostage from somewhere on or near the African continent, but there is no confirmation that U.S. forces played a role in Tennyson’s release.
The Marianites of Holy Cross, which were founded by Blessed Father Basil Moreau in 1838, have approximately 140 members worldwide, 40 of whom reside in or around New Orleans. Prior to 2012, Sister Tennyson was the worldwide head of the order.
Sister Tennyson informed the Clarion Herald that during her travel to Burkina Faso as congregational leader, Bishop Thomas Kaboré of Kaya invited four Marianites to his diocese to assist in establishing a parish and constructing a medical facility. Sister Tennyson joined the other missionary sisters in the outpost after resigning as congregational head.
“You will come here, and God will take care of the rest,” Tennyson recalled the bishop saying to her.
She told the newspaper in 2016 that she wished to remain in Burkina Faso for as long as her health and religious community permitted, stating that she had “never felt so alive in my vocation.” The modest parish church is thriving, and according to one source, people travel 50 kilometres to get care at the clinic, which is so crucial to the community.
The West African country of Burkina Faso, with a population of 21 million, has been a hotspot of Islamic terrorism and bloodshed in recent years, particularly after 2016. There are several reports of assaults on Christians by gunmen. A gang of shooters burnt down a Catholic church during Sunday Mass in mid-May 2019 and murdered at least six people, including a priest. The next day, four more Catholics were shot and died. A Catholic priest who went missing in Burkina Faso in January 2021 was subsequently discovered dead in a jungle.
In January 2022, a military coup occurred in the nation, and the new president has highlighted the significance of restoring security. In February, however, at the minor seminary Saint Kisito de Bougui, attackers torched two dormitories, a classroom, a vehicle, and destroyed a crucifix.