Pope Benedict XVI met the mother of kidnapped French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt on Wednesday and told her he was praying for her daughter.
Yolanda Pulecio, whose daughter has been held captive since 2002 by Colombian rebels, spoke to the pontiff for a few minutes at the end of his general audience in the Vatican.
Speaking to journalists later, she said she had asked Benedict for his prayers, stressing that Betancourt was in ''continuous danger''.
According to Pulecio, the pope's response was: ''I pray for this girl and I know well the difficult position she finds herself in''.
The pope and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are believed to have discussed the kidnapping of Betancourt, a former presidential candidate, during a recent meeting in the Vatican.
