ACI Prensa Staff, 25 June, 2025 / 1:54 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to persecuted Christians during the Wednesday general audience on June 25, referring to the “heinous terrorist attack” on Sunday by the Islamic State against the Greek Orthodox community in Damascus, in which 25 faithful lost their lives while attending the Divine Liturgy.
On Sunday, June 22, the solemnity of Corpus Christi, eyewitnesses reported that two armed men stormed the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias in Douailah on the outskirts of the Syrian capital. The brutal attack, the first since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, also left 63 injured.
During his greetings to the Italian-speaking faithful, the pontiff entrusted the deceased “to the mercy of God” while offering prayers for the wounded and their families.
“To the Christians of the Middle East, I say: I am close to you! The whole Church is close to you!” Pope Leo exclaimed.
This tragic event, according to the pontiff, “recalls the profound fragility that Syria still faces after years of conflict and instability.”
