Pope Mourns Damascus Church Attack, Offers Prayers for Victims

Pope Leo XIV has expressed deep sorrow over the deadly suicide attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Syria last weekend.

The attack, which took place on Sunday at the Saint Elias Church in Damascus, claimed the lives of 25 people and left more than 60 others injured. A little-known Sunni extremist group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the bombing, although authorities initially suspected the Islamic State group was behind the incident.

In a statement delivered by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope conveyed his sympathy and support for the victims and their families.

“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Mar Elias in Damascus,” Cardinal Parolin said. “He expresses his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy.”

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack marks the first suicide bombing targeting a church in Syria since the outbreak of the country’s civil war in 2011.

Syria’s Christian population has suffered heavily during the conflict, with numbers declining from around one million in 2011 to approximately 300,000 today.