The news of Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil’s release came after 3pm and there was a tremendous showers of joy and celebration in Ramapuram, the ancestral village of Fr.Uzhunnalil. None of Fr. Uzhunnalil’s siblings live at this village, one of the brothers lives in north India while another is abroad and his sister is in Palakkad but however, many of the family members live in Kurinji, a village near Ramapuram. Whole village welcomed the happy news of the priest’s release as a miraculous one and the political leaders across the spectrum who were always in touch with the family eager to know about the news of the abducted father, gathered at the residence of Mr. Thomas Uzhunnalil, a cousin of the Salesian priest Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil.
As reported by thehindu.com, Mr. Thomas Uzhunnalil said that “It is the results of prayers, we came to know about it through TV and no one, other than those from the Salesian Provincial headquarters in Bengaluru, has called us till now and all we know is that he is free and that is all we want to know.” Further, he added, “There were moments when we lost all hope, like when his tapes were released or when his reports of his alleged crucifixion were carried by the media but every such setbacks only strengthened our spirit to pray more intensely.”
Political leaders who gathered at the residence of Mr. Thomas Uzhunnalil included Kerala Congress Leaders K.M.Mani, P.J.Joseph, Roshy Augustine, Mons Joseph (all MLAs), Jose K Mani, other priests and nuns, and they distributed sweet among themselves.
