Pope calls for prayers for 20 injured in Palm Sunday suicide bombing in Indonesia

Two attackers believed to be members of militant network that pledged allegiance to Islamic State blew themselves up outside packed Roman Catholic cathedral

The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church (AFP via Getty Images)

Twenty people have been injured in a suicide bombing in Indonesia during a Palm Sunday mass.

Two attackers believed to be members of an Islamist militant group targeted a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar, police said.

The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church. The two suspects were the only fatalities.

Pope Francis paid tribute to the injured during his Palm Sunday mass.

Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said the bombers were both believed to belong to the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which is suspected of other suicide attacks on churches and a police post in previous years.

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A video obtained by the Associated Press detailed the aftermath of the attack, showing a burning motorbike at the gates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar.

Wilhelmus Tulak, a Catholic priest who had been leading the mass when the bomb exploded at about 10.30am, told reporters that a loud bang shocked his congregation, who had just finished the Sunday service marking the beginning of the Holy Week before Easter.

The first batch of churchgoers were walking out of the church while another group was coming in when the blast happened, he said.

He explained that security guards had suspected two motorists who were looking to enter the church, and then approached them to question them.

One then detonated his explosive device and died, injuring four guards and sixteen churchgoers.

Sunday’s attack was the latest major incident since the May 2018 suicide bombings, when two families carried out suicide bombings in the second-largest city of Surabaya, which killed 12 people.

The incident occurred on the first day of Holy Week – which moved online due to the Covid-19 pandemic – an important week for Catholics who follow the tradition to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the second Palm Sunday mass without the usual mass of faithfuls, Pope Francis commemorated the holy week – noting how worshipping has been made harder by the economic and social hardship brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"For the second time we are living it (Holy Week) in the context of the pandemic," Pope Francis said, with around 120 faithful, including nuns and a few families or couples, sitting far apart in the pews.

"Last year, we were more shocked. This year it is more trying for us. And the economic crisis has become heavy.”

The Pope ended his address with a specific call for prayers for victims of the suicide bombing.