Disappeared Colombian priest 'freed,' says Augustinian province

(OSV News) -- An Augustinian priest in Colombia who disappeared in June has been released, his order confirmed in a July 27 statement.

Father Carlos Saúl Jaimes Guerrero of the Order of St. Augustine's Province of Our Lady of Grace of Colombia had gone missing June 17, after driving from Hacienda Casacoima -- a farm where he promoted youth and senior citizen activities -- to a scheduled meeting nearby. Early reports indicated the appointment was set to take place at a nearby ravine.

Later that day, the 30-year-old priest's vehicle was found on the side of a local road with the engine still on, the doors open and no signs of violence.

Without specifying the circumstances of his return, the Augustinian province said in its Spanish-language statement that Father Jaimes had been "liberated and was already reunited safe and sound with his family" ("ha sido liberado y ya se encuentra sano y salvo junto a su familia").

The province expressed its deep gratitude for the prayers and messages of support it had received on behalf of the priest, which were "a beautiful witness of communion and shared faith."

"We give thanks to God for this moment of hope and for having sustained with his strength" the priest amid "the difficult days" he had endured, said the province.

Days after Father Jaimes' disappearance, authorities discovered a mass grave with the bodies of eight religious and community leaders, including evangelical and Protestant missionaries, who had disappeared in April. The group had vanished in the city of Calamar after being invited to meet with members of a guerrilla organization.

Police and several governmental agencies teamed up to track down the missing priest, with the nation's air force conducting helicopter flights and the municipal government of Viotá, the city near which Father Jaimes had disappeared, offering a reward for information.

The priest's mother and one of his sisters recorded social media videos pleading for his release, while hundreds of Viotá residents held a June 26 candlelight march and vigil for his return. An Augustinian-operated radio station also led a novena for the missing cleric.

The province called for continued prayers as Father Jaimes recovers from the experience, saying "an important time" had opened up for the priest -- "a period of recuperation, serenity and fraternal accompaniment" with his family and religious order.

"We ask you to accompany him with respect, understanding and prayer," as he "needs to reencounter the peace and quiet that were taken from him in these days."

The province added, "We continue to trust in the power of the Gospel, which invites us to hope and to reconciliation. May God bless and richly reward all."

According to Open Doors International, a global advocacy group monitoring Christian persecution, Christians in Colombia must navigate a "fragile peace between the government and guerrilla groups," the latter of which -- often aligned with drug trafficking gangs -- often violently target the faithful, who are seen as opposing cartels and discouraging youth from joining the guerillas.