American nun kidnapped in African found alive nearly 5 months later

An American nun in her eighties who U.S. federal officials said was kidnapped in Africa nearly five months ago has been found alive, the Catholic Church reported Wednesday.

Sister Suellen Tennyson, a member of the Marianites of Holy Cross in Louisiana, was kidnapped by armed gunmen on April 4 in the West African nation of Burkina Faso, the FBI previously reported.

According to the FBI, Tennyson, was 83 when gunmen kidnapped her from her home near Kaya, the fifth largest city in Burkina Faso, a landlocked country bordered by Ghana and Niger.

A letter sent to Marianites of Holy Cross said Tennyson, an American citizen, was free and in U.S. hands in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Wednesday reportedly in good health after being released by her captors.

Church officials said the nun was taken by 10 gunmen without her blood pressure medication. The church statement about her release, though, said she was still in good health after nearly five months in captivity.

“We have no information on the conditions of her release but we express our profound gratitude to those who worked toward it,” Kaya Bishop Theophile Nare said.

“We are grateful to God for the safety of Sr Suellen,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.