Pope Leo has issued an urgent plea for the safe release of hundreds of abducted Nigerian schoolchildren.
This comes after a church group confirmed that at least 50 have escaped and reunited with their families.
In his emotional plea in St Peter's Square, the Pope expressed deep sorrow and distress about the incident which is one of the biggest and most serious abductions ever reported in Nigeria.
He said, "I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release," as per Sky News.
The Pope added, "Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours and that churches and schools may always and everywhere remain places of safety and hope."
On Friday, armed attackers abducted both students and teachers from St Mary's school in northwestern Nigeria.
It is a part of series of similar school attacks that happened throughout the week and considering this, the government has decided to close 47 schools.
According to the Most Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, the owner of the school, 50 kidnapped students aged 10 to 18 escaped one by one between Friday and Saturday while 253 students and 12 teachers are still in captivity.
It is not yet known where the escaped children were being kept or how they managed to make their way back.
