The FMA house is located in a district of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, torn by war, and houses five sisters, a priest, mothers and children, a teacher and a group of men, some of whom are elderly and sick.
In a testimony given to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Salesian Father Jacob Thelekkadan, who resides in the FMA house, said that the bomb hit the first floor of the building when the children and their mothers were gathered on the ground floor. A young mother and her two children, aged 7 and 4, suffered minor head injuries, but providentially it was nothing serious. "We cannot imagine the damage that these explosions would have caused if they had hit the ground floor" said Father Thelekkadan.
In addition to the damage to the building, a painting of Our Lady was destroyed in the explosion. For this reason, the Salesian commented: "We are sure that Our Mother wanted to sacrifice herself for all of us. So the beautiful portrait of Our Blessed Mother fell to pieces. The maternal protection of Our Mother reigns in Dar Mariam!"
Father Thelekkadan also told ACN that the bomb split when it hit the building, causing two explosions in different parts of the first floor. “The first part of the bomb shattered the teacher's room, injuring the teacher on both legs, but not very badly. The second part of the bomb shattered the two rooms belonging to the sisters and the doors of their rooms flew off falling a metre away. Two Salesian sisters were in one room and the door of the same room as well as the bathroom door fell on them. One was injured in the back, although not seriously. Probably the doors saved her from the heavy bomb splinters" the priest said.
All the injured have been taken to the hospital, but they have already been discharged and are well.
Although largely forgotten by the outside world, the war in Sudan continues to rage as different military factions fight each other. Peace talks are underway, while the conflict is just days away from seven months duration. Estimates vary, but according to the UN special envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, at least 5,000 people have been killed and more than 12,000 injured. Some churches were destroyed during the fighting, but others opened their doors to provide shelter and refuge. Although most of the missionaries had to be evacuated, the Salesian sisters are determined to stay with the faithful.
Father Thelekkadan was in charge of the St Joseph Vocational Centre in Khartoum, but had to close it because it was in an area of heavy fighting. He decided to stay in Sudan to support the Salesian sisters. "Continue to pray for this senseless and tragic war to end and for God to grant Sudan the gift of lasting peace!", he exhorted in his message to the ACN benefactors.
The FMA, too, while thanking Our Lady for her miraculous protection, because of the situation that remains always worrying, ask all their sisters to continue to implore her powerful intercession for peace in Sudan and in all the nations of the world torn by conflict.
