Sri Lanka recalls Pope Francis' compassion on Easter bombing anniversary

Sri Lankan Catholics offered prayers for Pope Francis on Monday, the sixth anniversary of the Easter bombings that killed 279 people, recalling his "deep empathy" for the victims.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said the pontiff had met with a 41-member delegation of survivors at the Vatican three years ago, comforting each one individually and pledging continued support to ensure justice.

"The Holy Father deviated from a prepared text to urge the Sri Lankan government to ensure a transparent investigation," Ranjith said during a commemorative service for the victims at St Sebastian's Church.

Shortly before the pope's death was announced, Ranjith told another commemorative service in the capital, Colombo, that the Vatican had recognized 167 Catholics killed in the Easter attacks as "Witnesses of the Faith".

The move, which followed a process that began a year ago, places the Catholic victims on a path to possible sainthood.

"The purpose of this is to propagate and preserve the memory of the witness in perpetuity," Ranjith said.

St Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya, a village north of Colombo, was the worst affected by the coordinated suicide bombings.

Ranjith read out the names of 116 victims at the St Sebastian shrine and 41 others at St Anthony's Church, who were honored by the Vatican.

He said the pontiff had shed tears when shown a video of the aftermath of the April 21, 2019, bombings.

"I saw the tears in the Holy Father's eyes," Ranjith said. "He had deep empathy for the victims."

Several investigations into the bombings -- which targeted three churches and three hotels -- concluded that the attacks were carried out by homegrown jihadists who claimed affiliation with the Islamic State group.

However, the Church has accused successive governments of protecting those behind the attacks, and several high-level investigations have identified links between military intelligence units and the bombers.