The Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in the Diocese of Pemba, Mozambique. / Credit: ACN

ACI Africa, Jul 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Armed robbers attacked a girls’ home in the Diocese of Pemba in northern Mozambique run by the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (HMSS) in early June. Violent incidents are reportedly on the rise there, according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International. 

In a report ACN shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on July 1, HMSS members recalled the traumatic experience of June 8 when the girls’ home under their care was broken into by a group of men armed with guns and machetes.

In a message to ACN, Sister Ofélia Robledo Alvarado described the terror they felt during the break-in. 

“A group of 18 men entered our mission, armed with machetes, iron bars, and weapons. Eight men came into the house, while the others stayed outside, controlling the gates and subduing the guards,” Alvarado said in the ACN report, published June 27.

She recalled the fear that gripped her and three others at the sight of the armed men, saying: “We were terrified when we saw them enter our rooms, demanding money and taking everything they could get their hands on. They stole our computers, cellphones, and what little money we had.”

She recalled the armed men getting the four sisters into their community chapel and ordering them to kneel.

“We thought they were going to set fire to the chapel with us inside, but instead they made Sister Esperanza kneel in the center of the chapel and raised a machete to cut off her head in front of us,” Alvarado recounted.

She recalled pleading with the armed men not to harm Esperanza. “They had already taken all we owned; I begged for mercy,” Alvarado recounted, adding: “These were terrible moments, but thank God, they released her.”

In the ACN report, the departure of the attackers from the Mercedarian Sisters’ premises did not calm their anxiety, and they did not know the fate of the 30 girls at the home.

“Thank God, we found them quiet and unharmed,” Alvarado said.

She recalled that the June 8 attack was the first time in 17 years that the sisters’ mission had been attacked.

Alvarado attributes the attack to a “wave of terrorism that began in 2017” and “changed everything.”

“We are living a situation of insecurity all over the province of Cabo Delgado, and what is sad is that it seems that even the police and the military are involved in these bands of organized criminals, so we need to take measures to protect ourselves and the girls,” she said.

According to an ACN report shared with ACI Africa, Mercedarians Sisters “are now hoping to raise funds to install security cameras and bars on the windows.”

The cost will be relatively high considering that the bars have to be fitted on 70 windows of the building, which comprises the sisters’ residence, the home for the girls they care for, the chapel, the guesthouse and the study room, according to the report.

The attack on the residence of the Mercedarian Sisters happened just days after the La Salette Fathers in Mieze were also “robbed by men armed with machetes who attacked under the cover of darkness.” None of the religious were harmed, the ACN report indicated.

The attacks on the two Catholic institutions were not carried out by Islamist insurgents, according to ACN, but were the result of a “general breakdown in security — largely caused by the insurgency.”

This has resulted in a rise in armed violence affecting the entire province. In addition, severe poverty and lack of resources — also a consequence of the insurgency — have led to waves of theft and robbery,” the ACN report said. 

Sister Aparecida Ramos Queiroz, the contact for projects in the Pemba Diocese, confirmed to ACN that there is an urgent need for security measures to protect sisters’ convents.

ACN officials are working closely with the Mozambican diocese to support efforts to improve security for convents and other Church institutions. 

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.