A mass of remembrance was held under the patronage of the Rev Fr Philip Marshall at the St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Adelaide on Sunday 29th April evening after the Easter Sunday bombings in hotels and churches which killed 253 people and wounded about 500. More than 800 people gathered at the St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral, Adelaide and prayed for the victims of what has been described as one of Sri Lanka’s worst days. This bilingual mass (Sinhala/English) was jointly organised by the Adelaide Archdiocese and Sri Lankan Catholic Association of SA.
A number of local dignitaries including Governor of South Australia, Hon Hieu Van Le, Premier of SA, Hon Steven Marshall, Assistant Minister to Premier Hon Jing Lee, Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas and the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka Dr Charitha Perera joined the mass.
In the prayer service prior to the Mass, members of the congregation lit candles in remembrance of the people of Sri Lanka. Invited guest speakers following the Mass were Professor Mohamad Abdalla representing the Imams Council of SA and Ven. Gothatuwe Punya Thero from Mahamevnawa Buddhist Meditation Centre, Adelaide.
