November 2025
An article about the Meeting was recently published in the diocesan magazine of Algiers, featuring the testimony of Lourdes Miguélez Matilla, an Augustinian nun who has lived in Algeria for over 50 years. Having also lived through the dark period of the 1990s, she was a firsthand witness to the dramatic situations of that time and to the assassination of the two sisters—Caridad Álvarez Martín and Esther Paniagua—with whom she lived and was going to Mass on that day.
The Exhibition and the Talk on the Martyrs of Algeria
The article opens by describing the Meeting as “an event that is hard to imagine until you experience it in person.” “Among the thirty or so exhibitions present,” it reads, “a special place was reserved for the memory of the blessed of Algeria, thanks to a magnificent 600-square-meter display created by the Oasis Foundation. The exhibition welcomed 15,000 visitors, each taking part in a tour lasting about an hour. Set within the context of the 30th-anniversary commemorations, it can truly be considered the main event of this anniversary, amidst other initiatives already held and others still planned.”
The article then recalls Pope Leo XIV’s message to the Meeting, with a paragraph specifically dedicated to the exhibition, and mentions the talk “Lives Given. The Living Legacy of the Martyrs of Algeria,” with the president of the Meeting, Bernhard Scholz; Thomas Georgeon, postulator of the cause for beatification of the martyrs of Algeria; Professor Nadjia Kebour; the Archbishop of Algiers, Card. Jean-Paul Vesco; and Sister Lourdes herself, moderated by Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Vatican Publishing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
Sister Lourdes’ Testimony
In the second part of the article, the nun speaks in the first person (text collected by Éric Dubois).
“At first, I had refused to come, because I didn’t think I had anything special to say and I didn’t see what I could contribute. But after the insistence and encouragement I received, I thought it might be useful to share our experience of staying in Algeria during the years of the civil war (1991-2002), when two of my sisters, Ester and Cari, were shot and killed on October 23, 1994, while on their way to Mass.
In Rimini, I was struck by the wonderful and warm welcome offered by the 3,000 volunteers. They were extremely well-prepared. Their explanations, deep and full of faith, touched me. They made sure we wanted for nothing. Their helpfulness impressed me. It was a moment of hope. It seemed like we had all known each other forever.
I carry with me the joy of life and the contagious hope that I breathed in. To understand, you have to live and savor the experience. I immediately felt at ease. Every encounter was an unforgettable moment, an opening to the world from a cultural, human, and even family-like perspective.”
