“We are building the character of the students to be leaders in society, taking responsibility and developing a plan to remain in this country."

“These schools are very important because they maintain the Christian presence, they keep the families in the villages and provide employment for teachers, and non-academic staff.”

"At first the responsibility was laid at the feet of the Islamic community, but now there are elements that point to a political plot, with connections between certain political groups and the extremists who set off the bombs.”

The extremists sprayed anti-Christian graffiti on the walls of the nearby Chapel of the Immaculate Conception.The slogans, some in German, read: “O, you [expletive] slaves of the Cross, we will kill you all… You dirty people, you do not belong here.”

“My coming to the seminary led some of my relatives to shun us. I can remember one of them saying to my father that if anything happened to any of us, we should not call him.” 

He tries to convey to the faithful – and to the soldiers – that there is nothing sacred about anger, nothing good, and reminds them that Christ forgave those who killed him “for they know not what they do,” while Our Lady prayed in silence.