Prayers for the Persecuted - 2 Coptic Churches in Egypt Attacked

According to the New York Times, two explosions at Coptic churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday left at least 40 people dead and injured dozens of others as a day of worship in the besieged Christian community turned to destruction and carnage.

The first blast ripped through St. George’s Church in northern Egypt in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, 50 miles north of Cairo, during a Mass about 9:30 a.m., according to an official from the Health Ministry. The deputy minister of health put the death toll at 27.

Hours later, a suicide bomber set off an explosion outside the main Coptic church in Alexandria, St. Mark’s Cathedral, killing at least 13 — including three police officers — and injuring 21 others, the Health Ministry said.