A terrorist assault on a church in southwestern Nigeria has not dampened the religion of its congregation as worshipers proceed to fill the pews two years on.
41 worshipers have been killed and over 70 injured in an assault on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo through the 5 June 2022 Whitsunday Mass.
Right this moment we commemorate the anniversary with a particular mass and a speech on martyrdom. Regardless of the trauma of the assault, church attendance was unaffected.
Margaret Attah, a nurse who turned wheelchair-bound within the assault after dropping each legs and an eye fixed, informed Assist to the Church in Want that there was nice worry in the neighborhood because of the ongoing risk of assaults and kidnappings, and that many Christians have been ” afraid to depart their houses”.
“There is no such thing as a peace. We can not sleep with our eyes closed. We can not journey even brief distances with out worry,” she stated.
Regardless of this, he nonetheless thanks God and says that “the church is at all times full on Sundays – to God be the glory”.
Fr Michael Abugan, parish priest of St Francis Xavier, praised the survivors of the assault for being “very decided, very dedicated and really resilient of their follow of religion”.
ACN is financially supporting survivors, together with funding prosthetic legs for Ms Attah.
Regardless of her life-changing accidents, Ms Attah stated she had forgiven her attackers: “I pray to God to forgive me for my very own sins, simply as I have to forgive others.”
She stated the one hope for Nigeria is prayer and that she trusts God with the way forward for the nation.
“We should proceed to hope to God for his kingdom to come back,” she stated.
“Solely the dominion of God can rule in Nigeria – that's the one approach we will have peace.”
