Prayers and solidarity for the release of Fr. Luigi Maccalli, a missionary in Niger continue. Fides News Agency said February 19, 2019, that there has been no news of Fr. Macalli since September 17, 2018. Among the many testimonies, Father Matteo Revelli, priest of the Society for African Missions (SMA), parish priest of St. François d’Assise in Fès, told Fides about when in 2003 Fr. Gigi went to visit him in Fès. «On that occasion – Father Revelli recalls – he had given me a small crucifix composed of intertwined nails, finely joined by a piece of iron. His father Giovanni was the artist of this crucifix. He had learned to do it and in the winter evenings, he spent his time in these modest works of art, which were then delivered to the catechists in Africa, and even to me. I removed it from the wardrobe to put it on the altar of my chapel, where I often pray even with the students, to remind me of Gigi. We all pray for him and we hope to be able to embrace him soon.»
