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Nun who survived horrific Yemen massacre recounts 'miraculous escape'

Two months after the massacre in Yemen that left 20 people dead, the only surviving nun still feels the trauma of what happened.

Sister Mary Sally, a nun serving with the Missionaries of Charity, remembered how her "miraculous escape" allowed her to be spared from the tragedy.

Catholic nuns from the Missionaries of Charity kneel as they pray beside a statue of Mother Teresa in Calcutta. March 15, 2016 07:02am EDT | Reuters

She said that armed men attacked the home of the aged that she and four other nuns were overseeing. The men shot the security guard, and when those who saw what happened tried to warn the others inside the building, the armed men caught them, tied them to a tree and executed them.

The armed men then shot people inside the home for the aged, including four nuns that Sister Mary Sally worked with. She recalled how they all went together that morning to the facility in order to serve the elderly who lived there.

"We all worked together," the 59-year-old nun said. "We all went together after breakfast that day to the destitute home where 64 elderly persons live."

Sister Mary Sally also described how the priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, was taken. The men blindfolded him using a black cloth and tied his hands, she said.

She explained that during the attack, she was in a different location in the building, which is why the armed men did not see her when they raided the facility.

With the help of the church and the Indian government, Sister Mary Sally was moved to Jordan. She said she wants to be with her family before she returns to work.

Although she is grateful to God that her life was spared, she misses the four nuns, the "beloved sisters" she served with in Yemen who became victims of the massacre. She recalled them as "sweet people who served God with dedication."

She is hopeful that Father Uzhunnalil, who she learned is still alive, would be released.