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Pope Francis: Moved by the story of the widow of the murdered ambassador of Italy

His widow Italian ambassador killed last year in Democratic Republic of the Congo she burst into tears as she spoke to him Pope Francis for her husband’s efforts to help African children.

Luca Atanazio, his bodyguard Vittorio Iacovaci and their driver, Mustafa Milabo, were killed in an ambush while driving on their way to a UN-sponsored school.

The Italian ambassador to the DRC left behind his wife Zakia Sediki and the three daughters they had. Attendees erupted in prolonged applause at Atanazio’s name during a Vatican event.

Zakia Sendiki, a Muslim from Casablanca, Morocco, spoke of her late husband’s great love for children and his support for an NGO she founded to help homeless women and children in Africa.

Unable to hold back her tears, she also explained that the different religious beliefs were a “gift” and not an obstacle to their marriage. “We learned, step by step, to live in harmony without judging each other, because we have always believed in the same God, who asks us in two different holy books – the Bible and the Qur’an – to love our fellow man, to always do “Good and not bad, to respect others,” he said. “We both read to our little girls. “Hand in hand with Lucas, we prayed together wherever we went,” he continued.

As the head of the Roman Catholic Church listened intently, Sediki recounted that the period of Ramadan fasting made them reflect on “the sufferings of every child deprived of food and water” in various parts of Africa.

The pope told her that her husband’s example and spiritual heritage “remain alive and addressed to the consciences of many.”

Pope Francis was due to visit the area where Luca Atanazio was killed during a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, but was canceled due to mobility problems.

Source: News Beast

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