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3 DENVER CATHOLIC | APRIL 27-MAY 10, 2019 World & Nation FOR KING & COUNTRY WITH REBECCA ST. JAMES Sunda, Jun 30 *AVAILABLE ARENA EVENTS TICKET PRICES INCREASE JUNE 26 BY $ 5 Amazing 12-day Marian pilgrimage DEADLINE JUNE Information: Susan, Stella Maris Tours 303-726-4009 www.materdeitours.com • 1-800-515-2632 Amazing 12-day Marian pilgrimage DEADLINE JUNE Daily Mass with Fr. Israel Gonsalves, O.C.D. our Chaplain. Round trip airfare from Denver and all taxes, air conditioned motor coach, 22 meals, English speaking tour guides. SEPT. 1627 • FRANCE PORTUGAL SPAIN Visit the following Marian Shrines: Lourdes, Fatima, Torreciudad, El Pilar, Sonsoles, Almudena. Visits to: Madrid, Lisbon, Barbastro, Zaragoza, Avila, Segovia and PARIS. See Saints shrines: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. James of the "Camino de Santiago", St. Francisco, St. Anthony of Padua, and much more... Additions · Remodels · Full Builds Design Thru Build Residential & Commercial General Contractor PARISHIONER Matthew Alderman c. 720.217.1263 w. 303.495.2777 aldermanbuilders.com FREE CONSULTATION Sri Lanka Easter attacks draw international condemnation, prayer for victims BY CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY R eligious and civil leaders have responded with condolences, prayer, and calls for justice after several explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka killed more than 200 people and injured hundreds more on Easter Sunday. Calling it "a very, very sad day for all of us," Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, canceled all remaining Easter Masses for the day in the Colombo district. At the conclusion of his Urbi et Orbi address on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis said the violence in Sri Lanka has brought "grief and sorrow" to the people there. "I wish to express my ažectionate closeness to the Christian community, struck while it was gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel vio- lence," he said. "I entrust to the Lord all those who have tragically perished," he said, adding his prayers for those who are injured and sužering from the attacks. Shortly before 9 a.m., explosions were detonated during Easter Mass at Catholic churches in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, and in Negombo, a city 20 miles to its north. At the same time, a bomb exploded at a service at the evangelical Zion Church in Batticaolo, on Sri Lanka's east coast. Pews were shattered by the blast at St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, and floors and ceilings were covered in blood. The Catholic shrine is the most well-known church in Sri Lanka and is designated the country's national shrine. The first chapel on the Church property was built during Sri Lanka's Dutch colonial period, when Catholicism was mostly forbidden on the island. There were also explosions Sunday morning at three luxury hotels in Colombo, and explosions outside a zoo and a private home Sunday afternoon. The island nation, which is home to a population of more than 21 million, has been plagued with periodic violence since its 26-year civil war concluded in 2009. More than 70 percent of Sri Lankans are Buddhists, roughly 13 percent are Hindus, almost 10 percent are Muslims, and fewer than 8 percent are Christians. There are 1.5 million Catholics in the country, constituting the overwhelming majority of the Sri Lanka's Christians.