New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS): The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India has lauded the role of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in securing the release of Father Tom Uzhannalil, the Kerala priest abducted by the Islamic State in Yemen in March 2016.

The priest was released on September 12 and the Minister tweeted on Saturday a letter written to her by the CBCI Secretary General Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas.

Mascarenhas has expressed gratitude to Sushma Swaraj, saying she had done a marvellous work by undertaking the matter of Father Uzhannalil.

The Catholic priest reached the Vatican on September 13, a day after his release from an undisclosed location in Yemen after the intervention of Oman.

"I am really touched by your compassionate nature and for the very personal interest with which you undertook the matter. Every time we met you, we came re-assured that sooner or later Father Tom would be released," read the letter.