On the night of Tuesday 6 September the mission of Chipene, diocese of Nacala, Mozambique, was attacked by terrorists. During the attack Sr. Maria de Coppi, an Italian Comboni Missionary, was killed. The other two Sisters of the community, Sr Eleonora Reboldi, Italian, and Sr Angeles Lopez Hernandez, Spanish, managed to escape and took refuge in the forest with a group of girls from the mission. Two other missionaries, fidei donum, are also safe. The terrorists set fire to the structures of the mission, including the Church, the Sisters' house, the hospital and the school.
The province of Nampula, together with Capo Delgado, is the scene of instability caused by the advance of mega-projects for the extraction of natural gas and by the presence of terrorist groups linked to Islamic State. The parish of Chipene, where Sr. Maria worked, welcomes displaced people who are fleeing from Islamic terrorist groups.
Maria de Coppi, 83 years old, had lived in Mozambique since 1963. In a recent interview she said that the last two years had been particularly difficult: "In the north of the country there is a war going on for the gas fields and people are suffering and fleeing: in my parish there are 400 families who come from the war zone. There was also the cyclone and finally last year the drought lasted a long time. Today in Nampula there is extreme poverty... but people have not lost hope... I try to be close to the people especially by listening to what they tell me. In spite of material poverty, listening to others continues to be a great gift, it is recognizing their dignity.
Sister Maria is remembered as a person of peace and hope, always close to those who suffer; particularly sensitive to the needs of the displaced: "she always lavished herself to guarantee material and spiritual assistance, without ever giving up".
Sister Maria de Coppi's life donation is now made complete with the shedding of her blood for the evangelization of the Mozambican people.
