Mass Held at Catholic Church for First Time After Easter Bombings, Defying Threats

Catholics participate in Holy Mass at St. Joseph's church in Thannamunai, Sri Lanka on April 30, 2019. Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP Photo

A rural Catholic church in Sri Lanka held Mass, the first at a church in the nation since a spate of bombings on April 21, defying threats of further attacks.

The Mass was held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Thannamunal, a small village in eastern Sri Lanka about 225 kilometers (140 miles) northeast of Colombo, the capital and the site of most of the bombings.