ROME, Italy — Pope Francis welcomed a large assembly of Sri Lankan pilgrims in the Vatican on Monday to commemorate the 2019 Islamic State Easter Sunday massacre that claimed the lives of over 350 people.
“The reason that has summoned you here is the anniversary of the tragic events which, on Easter 2019, sowed death and terror in Sri Lanka,” the pontiff told the 3,500 Sri Lankans gathered for the ceremony held in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
“Today you offered the Eucharistic Sacrifice in suffrage for the victims of those terrible attacks, and you prayed for those injured — some of whom are present here — and for their families, as well as for all the people of Sri Lanka,” he declared. “With all my heart I join in your prayer.”
Members of the Sri Lankan community in Italy, listen to Pope Francis (L) in St. Peters Basilica at the Vatican on April 25, 2022. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
“In the face of the horror and absurdity of certain acts, which seem impossible to be committed by men, the work of the Evil One is evident,” the pope continued.
“And then we understand why the Son of God, the Innocent, the Holy, the Righteous, had to die crucified to save us,” he said. “He took upon himself not only death, but the cruelty of evil, hatred, fratricidal violence.”
Members of the Sri Lankan community in Italy, take photos using their mobile phones during a meeting with Pope Francis in St. Peters Basilica at the Vatican on April 25, 2022. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
“His Cross and his Resurrection are a light of hope in the thickest darkness. Let us pray today for all the victims of violence and war, especially terrorism,” he said.
The pope concluded by appeal to the Sri Lankan authorities “for the love of justice, for the love of your people” to definitively clarify who was responsible for the Easter 2019 slaughter.
“This will bring peace to your conscience and to the homeland,” he said.
The official investigation initially concluded that the perpetrators of the coordinated suicide bombings — which targeted Christian churches and several hotels — were members of National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), a small-scale jihadist terror group operating in South Asia.
NTJ did not claim credit for the attacks, however, but the Islamic State did so through its public relations agency Amaq.
The day of the 2019 attack, Vatican Cardinal Robert Sarah denounced the “barbaric Islamist violence” behind the bombings.
“As we celebrate the resurrection of the son of God, the terrible attacks in Sri Lanka once again show how the followers of Christ are all over the world the victims of wild and foolish deeds,” wrote the cardinal, who hails from the Republic of Guinea, an 85-percent Muslim nation.
“I condemn this barbaric Islamist violence. Pray,” he wrote in a tweet to his followers.
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