Local families come out every evening to light oil lamps and candles on the outside wall of St Sebastian’s Church.
Warnakulasuriya has been saying mass in an empty church in Negombo, just north of the capital, every day since the slaughter at three hotels and three churches, one not far from his. A few people went to St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo to say prayers in front of a barrier set up in front of the church where dozens died on April 21. But the faithful are frustrated.“It’s not enough because we cannot receive the eucharist through television, that’s the important thing,” said Shehani Rangana, 33, whose father was among the dead at St Sebastian’s church in Negombo.
“Sometimes they have hatred feelings, so we try to control them, to persuade them not to have revenge. We try to calm them by saying that Jesus is not hatred but love.” The priest said that the contact with the family was even more important as “life has slowed down” with no services being held and the Christian community is in fear.