The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith, condemned the deadly attacks on churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday (April 21) in a series of bomb blasts that claimed at least 290 lives and leaving more than 500 people injured.

The police said that it was the worst violence to hit the island since its devastating civil war ended a decade ago in 2009.

Cardinal Ranjit urged Sri Lankans not to “take the law into their own hands” after a series of explosions targeting churches and people hotels.

“I condemn, to the utmost of my capacity, this act which has caused so much death and suffering,” he told Fides.

He also urged people to donate blood to help the injured and pray for their speedy recovery. It is so sad, so tragic and shocking. The dastardly attack was mainly on Christians in churches and others in hotels.

“We are saddened for all those who loved lives in this violence. Our prayers are for each of them,” the Cardinal said. One of the explosions was at St Anthony’s Shrine, a Catholic Church in Kochcikade, Colombo, a tourist landmark.

A second blast hit at St Sebastian’s Church during Easter Mass, killing dozens. Pictures from the site showed bodies on the ground, blood on the church pews and a destroyed roof. Soon after the first two church blasts, police confirmed that the Zion Church in the east coast town of Batticaloa had been hit, along with three high-end hotels in the capital the Cinnamon Grand, the Shangri-La and the Kingsbury.