The city of Marawi in the Philippines has been occupied by terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State for the past several months. On May 23 the Maute group seized St. Mary’s Cathedral and captured Fr. Teresito “Chito” Soganob, along with 10 other persons. Last month the cathedral was taken back after a successful military operation, but the Christian captives were still to be located.
According to Vatican Radio, “Fr. Chito was rescued with another individual at about 11 p.m. Saturday,” and Bishop Edwin dela Pena of Marawi “said that he was happy receiving messages about Fr. Chito’s rescue.”
Archbishop Martin Jumoad of Ozamiz explained to CBCPNews their “liberation is the result of our faith in prayer.” He further commented, “So many are praying for his freedom. So many Masses are celebrated for that intention … The power of prayer is once again shown as a witness of our solid faith in God.”
However, Maute continues to hold about 56 Christian hostages, and military operations are in progress hoping to recover the remaining hostages.
And today we celebrate...