Bossi celebrates 1st Mass after release

An Italian priest held for over a month by Muslim rebels in the jungles of the southern Philippines celebrated his first Sunday Mass since his release, thanking those who worked for his freedom.

About 200 people who gathered yesterday at a Catholic church in a suburb of the capital, Manila, applauded as Rev. Giancarlo Bossi got up to speak.

Bossi, a 57-year-old missionary from Milan, thanked those who had prayed and supported him during the 39-day ordeal, including the Pope and 14 Marines who were killed in a clash with rebels while searching for him.

Bossi was seized July 10 and held in the jungles along the border of southern Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur by rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a rebel group engaged in peace talks with the government.

He was released late Thursday to great media fanfare.

“I still feel like a prisoner,” he jokingly told the congregation, saying he has been overwhelmed by the limelight and flurry of media interviews. – AP