The Vatican has recognized 167 Catholic faithful from Sri Lanka as witnesses of faith, six years after they were killed in suicide bombings inspired by the Islamic State group. The announcement coincided with a vigil held at St. Anthony’s Church, one of the attack sites, where hundreds, including religious figures from Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic communities, gathered to honor the victims.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, shared with attendees that Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, has added the names of the 167 Catholics who perished in the bombings at St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo and St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo to the “catalog of witnesses of faith.” This recognition is based on their “heroic context” and the violent opposition they faced due to “odium fidei,” or hatred of the faith. Ranjith also acknowledged that seven victims from other religions were “respectfully remembered.”
Witnesses of faith are individuals who sacrificed their lives for their belief. In 2023, Pope Francis established a new category of recognition for those who died professing the Catholic faith, creating a special Vatican commission to catalog such cases. The commission, based in the Vatican’s canonization office, has compiled hundreds of cases to highlight them alongside officially recognized martyrs of the Church, potentially leading to beatification or sainthood.
The tragic events of April 21, 2019, saw more than 260 people killed, including 42 foreigners, in nearly simultaneous Easter Sunday attacks on three tourist hotels and three churches — two Catholic and one Protestant. The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has called for a more thorough investigation into the attacks, especially after a British television channel aired an interview with a man claiming to have facilitated a meeting between a local group inspired by the Islamic State, National Thowheed Jamath, and a senior state intelligence official. This meeting allegedly aimed to create instability in Sri Lanka, paving the way for former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidential election later that year.
