Religious Significance
President Uribe stated that the rescue operation "was guided in every way by the light of the Holy Spirit, the protection of our Lord and the Virgin Mary." The hostages indicated that they had spent much time in captivity praying the rosary, and Betancourt, formerly a lapsed Catholic who prayed daily on a wooden rosary which she made while a hostage, attributed the rescue as follows: "I am convinced this is a miracle."
On 21 July 2008, Betancourt and her family made a pilgrimage to Lourdes to give thanks and to pray for her captors and those who remained hostage.
In August 2008, Betancourt and her family were received by Pope Benedict XVI in a brief audience.
Meanwhile, Betancourt told a French Catholic magazine, Le Pelerin (The Pilgrim), July 12 that she constantly had read the Bible as a hostage."
Read more about this topic: Íngrid Betancourt
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