Ten years ago, on March 4, 2016, a group of terrorists stormed the compound of the “Home for the Aged” in Aden, run by the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa. 

On that day, Sisters Judith, Anselm, Reginette, and Marguerite were killed, together with 12 employees (one Christian and eleven Muslims). Only Sister Sally escaped miraculously, as she was able to hide in a corner where she was not seen by the attackers. At the same time, Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, who was residing in the compound, was kidnapped and released only 18 months later.

It is right that we remember with gratitude the four sisters and their companions who were killed while serving Christ in the poorest of the poor. They joined the witness of Sisters Zelia, Michael, and Aletta, who were killed on July 27, 1998, in Hodeidah. The remains of the sisters rest in the cemetery of Mallah in Aden, Yemen.

Before the outbreak of the civil war in March 2015, I visited at least once every year not only the four communities of the Missionaries of Charity, but also the four parishes of Sana’a, Taiz, Hodeidah, and Aden. I was always deeply impressed by their dedicated service to the poor, their fervent prayer, and their unforgettable smiles amid the hardship they faced day after day.

Today, as we pass through a time of conflict in the region, we are reminded that being a Christian in service to the poor can become a form of spiritual struggle that may even lead to martyrdom. We remember all of them with gratitude for their witness and ask for their intercession, that we ourselves may not fail in giving a living testimony of love, which is the only path that leads to peace.

The four sisters — Judith, Anselm, Reginette, and Marguerite — who were killed on March 4, 2016, in Aden were truly “missionaries of charity,” adding their blood to the blood of Christ, our Redeemer. 

Let us remember their witness and ask the Lord for peace and justice for Yemen and for the whole region of the Middle East.