Fr Ziad Hilal remembers his kidnapped colleague, Fr Jacques Mourad, in an interview with ACN

Jesuit priest and key project partner Fr. Ziad Hilal, friend of kidnapped Fr. Jacques Mourad, visited the ACN UK offices last Friday and spoke movingly about his missing colleague.

Describing Fr. Mourad as a “figure of leadership” for both Christians and Muslims in Syria, he begged for his friend’s safe return.

He said: “Please, let him go free because he is a good man. He wanted to help the Syrian people.”

Fr. Mourad was kidnapped by armed masked men on 21 May along with a companion. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

Fr. Mourad had lived and worked at the monastery of Mar Elian in Qaryatayn and in the hours before his abduction, had sent an email to ACN thanking the charity and its benefactors for their ongoing support.

Since the end of 2011, ACN has been able to donate more £71,000 (100,000 euros) to help displaced Syrians at the monastery of Mar Elian and has provided more than £8.5 million (12 million euros) in aid for the Church in Syria and Iraq.

Please continue to pray for the safe return of Fr. Jacques Mourad and his companion. If you share his story, you can tweet us at @acn_uk using the hashtag #PrayingForFatherMourad.