Pope Francis demands peace in Sri Lanka after Easter bombings

At least 207 people were killed and hundreds more injured in eight blasts that rocked churches and hotels in and just outside Sri Lanka’s capital on Easter Sunday, officials said, pitching the South Asian island nation into the worst chaos it has seen since a bloody civil war ended a decade ago.

Pope Francis issued a heartfelt appeal for peace in his Easter message to the city of Rome and the world (“Urbi et Orbi”), which he delivered after receiving the tragic news.