Kidnapping victim shares story during Storytellers

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ryan Conroy
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  An Italian priest who was kidnapped on a mission trip to the Philippines shared his story of adversity and resilience with Team Aviano members during the 3rd annual Storytellers event, Dec. 12, here.

The event that gives individuals a chance to share life-changing events they've been through, allowed Father Giuseppe Pierantoni to speak about an unforgettable experience.

Pierantoni had a dream for his life that may sound unusual - he wanted to live with the poor and live how they live. In 1991, his church granted his wish and sent him to the Philippines, to take part in outreach programs where he spent his next ten years caring for the less fortunate.

During his tenth year in a remote part of the island, Pierantoni became the less fortunate he was emulating, when a group of religious extremists broke into his convent and kidnapped him in the middle of the night.

"One night I heard gunshots and it turns out these men had shot at my companion, another priest from my congregation. Then they took me at gunpoint, put me in handcuffs, ordered me to obey and led me into the jungle," said Pierantoni.

It was one month after 9/11 when the group of Muslim fundamentalists kidnapped him in the middle of the night. Pierantoni was disoriented when they placed him on a boat and sent him off into the sea, far away. Upon his arrival to a remote area, 10 hours away from his convent, Pierantoni's captors handed him over to a new group and left him as a prisoner.

"In the beginning I was extremely scared and confused, and I had no idea what was happening," said Pierantoni. "They assumed I was an American and I remember trying to tell them that I was Italian. They didn't know the difference."

Pierantoni's first days were spent in anguish. All he could think about was how angry he was at these men and that there must be justice for their wickedness.

"On three separate occasions the newspapers reported that I had died and people were calling my family to offer their condolences," said Pierantoni. "My captors used this information to mock me saying, 'No one cares about you, and everyone thinks you are dead.'"

As months went by, Pierantoni said something changed inside him. He started to feel the abduction was his purpose in life.

"I was thinking to myself, 'this was your dream. You wished to be with the poor and although you lived there, you were never truly poor,'" said Pierantoni. "I had food, shelter and money in my pockets every day, but when I was kidnapped I truly lived as a poor man. So, I embraced it and started viewing it as an opportunity to serve God in a peculiar way."

With a new outlook on a horrific situation, Pierantoni began to feel liberated from his hatred for his captors. He started growing close with the men who imprisoned him. The younger men asked him to teach them English, causing the relationship to drastically change for the better.

"I stopped hating and started praying for the men," said Pierantoni. "Something happened - I was able to look back on all the years I had lived. I thought, 'What a beautiful life you have had.' I was able to accept my life and I was reconciled."

After six months of being held captive, Pierantoni was handed over to a police ambulance in the middle of the night. Pierantoni was left a different man.

"After I was released, I felt differently inside. I had changed," said Pierantoni. "Now I hold the utmost gratitude toward God for keeping me safe and staying with me through my tribulations. I'm thankful for my friends who prayed constantly and tried to do everything within their power to get me released. Lastly, I hold gratitude for my enemy because without them, I would never be able to get such a deep understanding of myself."

Each story that was shared at the Storytellers event, allowed attendees to hear extreme situations of adversity, but showed how each individual exhibited resiliency in the face of hardship.

Four Airmen shared their stories which included a master sergeant giving birth to her stillborn child, a senior airman whose friends were murdered and devastated by hurricane Katrina, an airman 1st class who lost her husband in a car accident and a staff sergeant who had suffered years of sexual abuse.

"We hold this every year so that Airmen can see that they can overcome anything no matter how difficult it may seem," said Staff Sgt. Shannon Stewart, Storytellers host. "As the father showed us, you can use the things that have tripped you up as stepping stones. It might not have been the path that you wanted, but it takes you on the paths that lead you here today."