ROME — Pope Francis met privately Thursday with a Sudanese woman who
refused to recant her Christian faith in the face of a death sentence,
blessing the woman as she cradled her infant born just weeks ago in
prison.
The Vatican characterized the visit with Meriam Ibrahim, 27, her husband and their two small children as “very affectionate.”
The 30-minute encounter took place just hours after the family
landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, accompanied by an Italian diplomat
who helped negotiate her release, and welcomed by Italy’s premier, who
hailed it as a “day of celebration.”
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope
“thanked her for her faith and courage, and she thanked him for his
prayer and solidarity” during the half-hour meeting Thursday. Francis
frequently calls attention to the suffering of those persecuted for
their religious beliefs.
Lombardi said the presence of “their wonderful small children”
added to the affectionate tone of the meeting. Ibrahim was presented
with a rosary, a gift from the pope.
Ibrahim held her sleeping infant as she stepped off the plane
from Sudan, which had blocked her from leaving the country even after
the country’s highest court overturned her death sentence in June. An
Italian diplomat carried her 18-month-old son and they were followed by
her husband, Daniel Wani, who is a citizen of the United States and
South Sudan.
Ibrahim and her family are expected to spend a few days in Rome before heading to the United States.
Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox
Christian from Ethiopia, was sentenced to death over charges of
apostasy. She married her husband, a Christian, in a church ceremony in
2011. As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited
from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their
faith.
The sentence was condemned by the United States, the United
Nations and Amnesty International, among others, and both the United
States and Italy — a strong death penalty opponent with long ties to the
Horn of Africa region — worked to win her release.
Sudan’s high court threw out her death sentence in June, but she
was then blocked from leaving the country by authorities who questioned
the validity of her travel documents.
Lapo Pistelli, an Italian diplomat who accompanied the family
from Sudan, said Italy was able to leverage its ties within the region.
“We had the patience to speak to everyone in a friendly way. This paid
off in the end,” he said.
refused to recant her Christian faith in the face of a death sentence,
blessing the woman as she cradled her infant born just weeks ago in
prison.
The Vatican characterized the visit with Meriam Ibrahim, 27, her husband and their two small children as “very affectionate.”
The 30-minute encounter took place just hours after the family
landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, accompanied by an Italian diplomat
who helped negotiate her release, and welcomed by Italy’s premier, who
hailed it as a “day of celebration.”
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope “thanked her for her faith and courage, and she thanked him for his
prayer and solidarity” during the half-hour meeting Thursday. Francis
frequently calls attention to the suffering of those persecuted for
their religious beliefs.
Lombardi said the presence of “their wonderful small children”
added to the affectionate tone of the meeting. Ibrahim was presented
with a rosary, a gift from the pope.
Ibrahim held her sleeping infant as she stepped off the plane
from Sudan, which had blocked her from leaving the country even after
the country’s highest court overturned her death sentence in June. An
Italian diplomat carried her 18-month-old son and they were followed by
her husband, Daniel Wani, who is a citizen of the United States and
South Sudan.
Ibrahim and her family are expected to spend a few days in Rome before heading to the United States.
Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox
Christian from Ethiopia, was sentenced to death over charges of
apostasy. She married her husband, a Christian, in a church ceremony in
2011. As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited
from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their
faith.
The sentence was condemned by the United States, the United
Nations and Amnesty International, among others, and both the United
States and Italy — a strong death penalty opponent with long ties to the
Horn of Africa region — worked to win her release.
Sudan’s high court threw out her death sentence in June, but she
was then blocked from leaving the country by authorities who questioned
the validity of her travel documents.
Lapo Pistelli, an Italian diplomat who accompanied the family
from Sudan, said Italy was able to leverage its ties within the region.
“We had the patience to speak to everyone in a friendly way. This paid
off in the end,” he said.
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