Warning that “agents of the devil who wish to hide the truth behind a wall of political posturing” were attempting to obstruct investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks, the Catholic Church has called for intensified public support and prayer to ensure justice for victims.

In a message issued ahead of the seventh anniversary of the April 21, 2019 bombings, Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said there were ongoing efforts by various forces to derail credible inquiries into the coordinated attacks that claimed 278 lives and left nearly 500 injured.

The statement noted that many of those killed had been attending Easter Sunday Mass when suicide bombers struck churches, including St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade, St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, and Zion Church, Batticaloa, causing widespread devastation and long-term suffering among survivors.

Seven years on, the Caridnal said, critical questions remain unanswered, including who masterminded the attacks, their motives, and why places of worship were targeted on Christianity’s most sacred day.

Full text of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s message: On 21st April 2026, the Church in Sri Lanka will be commemorating the 7th Anniversary of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, which killed 278 of our fellow human beings and brethren in the faith in the most brutal fashion. Most of these people had come to our Churches for Easter Sunday Masses and prayer services. Many families were rendered destitute. Nearly 500 people were injured and some of them carry life long disabilities, suffering from the after effects of these blasts. St. Anthony’s Church Kochchikade and St. Sebastian’s Church Katuwapitiya of the Catholic community and the Zion Church in Batticaloa were, quasi totally destroyed. The economy of the country suffered immensely with untold problems affecting many families, ever since then. However much we try to console the families of these victims, it is something that we humans are unable to achieve as only the Lord can truly console them.

Besides, we still do not know who murdered these people and caused so much of suffering to many others, and why and for what purpose they chose our Churches on a day that was most sacred to us to organize these attacks. After repeated pleas by the Catholic Church, now at last, the incumbent government and the security establishment, seem to be holding a credible inquiry into this episode of mass murder in order to find out who was really behind it.

And there are many forces actively seeking to obstruct these inquiries and divert the direction of the inquiry in an aimless fashion in order to hide the truth behind these attacks. They are nothing but the agents of the devil who wish to hide the truth behind a wall of political posturing. We need to storm Heaven and ask the Lord to strengthen the hands of the investigators to find out what really happened and who was behind this mass murder as well as why it was done to innocent people who had nothing to do with politics.

Hence, I call upon all of you to kindly storm Heaven with your prayers calling upon the Lord to help us find out what really happened that most tragic day. And so, I am declaring Sunday, the 19th of April 2026, as a special day of prayer for this purpose. I shall be most grateful to every one of you, beloved brethren, if you could recite special prayers in all the parishes of the Archdiocese at Sunday Mass on that day and offer prayers at home too for the success of these investigations. The special prayer for truth and justice for the victims of the bomb attacks, already approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, could also be recited. I call upon all our Catholic devotees to join us in this effort.

Let us stand together firmly behind the efforts to find out the truth. Let us not be deceived by attempts of different people to hide the truth or divert attention in all kinds of directions in order to confuse the public.

May the Blessed Mother, our Lady of Lanka, intercede for us in this most important matter.

A series of solemn religious observances and commemorative events will be held on Tuesday, April 21, to mark the seventh anniversary of the Easter Sunday terror attacks, with ceremonies planned across the island and a public march for justice in Negombo.

The programme will begin with a coordinated observance in churches nationwide. At 8:45 a.m., funeral bells will toll, followed by a two-minute silence in memory of the victims. At 8:47 a.m., bells will toll again as the faithful light candles or oil lamps, with the morning observance concluding in a special prayer service at 8:50 a.m.

Major ceremonies are to be held at key locations affected by the 2019 attacks.

At St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade, the commemoration will be led by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and Bishop Anton Ranjith. Proceedings will commence at 8:15 a.m. with the arrival of ambassadors and dignitaries. Following the national moment of silence and prayer at 8:45 a.m., invitees will participate in a candle-lighting ceremony at 8:47 a.m. The programme from 9:10 a.m. will include interfaith reflections and addresses by the Apostolic Nuncio, a representative of the United Nations, and Cardinal Ranjith.

At St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, religious observances will be conducted under the guidance of Bishop Maxwell Silva and Bishop J. D. Anthony. Holy Mass is scheduled for 7:30 a.m., followed by the tolling of bells, a two-minute silence, and the lighting of candles at the memorial monument at 8:45 a.m.

The day’s commemorations will culminate in a Prayer March for Justice in Negombo. The march is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. from the Maris Stella grounds, with clergy and lay participants proceeding to St. Sebastian’s Church, where bishops and priests will conduct a Benediction service.The events are expected to draw large numbers of clergy, devotees, diplomats and members of the public, as the nation continues to remember the victims and call for truth and accountability.

The Sri Lankan delegation, led by Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, held a series of high-level discussions with senior officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings 2026, alongside engagements with credit rating agencies and international investors.

During the talks, IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva congratulated Sri Lanka on reaching a staff-level agreement on the combined fifth and sixth reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and reaffirmed the Fund’s continued support for the country’s recovery and reform programme.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Dr. Kenji Okamura commended the progress achieved by Sri Lankan authorities despite global headwinds and domestic constraints. He noted that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East had generated uneven impacts across economies, stressing that support measures introduced in response should remain targeted and time-bound.

Okamura also emphasised the need for the timely restoration of cost-reflective energy pricing, urging Sri Lanka to sustain reforms and maintain policy discipline in order to strengthen macroeconomic resilience and support long-term growth.

Governor Weerasinghe, in response, expressed appreciation for the IMF’s flexibility in programme parameters, particularly in light of the recent cyclone damage and evolving geopolitical developments affecting Sri Lanka’s economic outlook.