Mass & Prayers This Thursday for Victims of Violence in Sri Lanka

In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka, faith communities throughout the Greater Toronto Area are coming together in prayer this Thursday. The Easter Sunday targeted attacks of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka left at least 359 dead and hundreds of others injured.

The Tamil community of Our Lady of Good Health Catholic Parish (operating out of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Scarborough), in partnership with the Tamil Catholic Community of Toronto, are organizing a Mass for victims of the attacks and to pray for peace. The Archbishop of Toronto, Cardinal Thomas Collins, will preside. All are welcome to attend. 

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church is located at 131 Birchmount Road, Toronto. The Mass will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday April 25, 2019.

At another event, as a sign of solidarity, faith communities from across the GTA will join hands to form an interfaith “ring of peace” around Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Toronto (520 Sherbourne St.) where the Tamil community also gathers for Mass weekly. The ring of peace will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday evening and will be followed by brief prayers inside the church. 

On Easter Sunday, Cardinal Collins made the following statement about these attacks:

On a day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Easter joy is numbed by the horrific attacks in Sri Lanka, targeting churches and hotels. We condemn the targeted violence against Christians that is taking place at an alarmingly frequent rate worldwide. The slaughter of innocent families in a place of worship is particularly heinous. I invite all of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Toronto to lift our collective voices in prayer for the hundreds killed and injured.

All Archdiocese of Toronto churches have been asked to offer special prayers this coming weekend for the victims of the Sri Lanka violence.