The late Pope Francis called Gaza’s only Catholic church each day through the war between Israel and Hamas, even during what he called his “period of trial” when he was hospitalised for nearly 40 days.
The Holy Family Church is one in all just three churches in Gaza, the opposite two being Orthodox and Baptist. Over 500 people, representing over half of Gaza’s Christian population are sheltering on the church compound on account of ongoing conflict.
Father Gabriel Romanelli who heads the church and, just like the late pope, is Argentinian, gave his reflections on the pope’s death to Sky News.
“It’s a really sad day for us,” he said.
“We lost him. In the identical time, we lost him in Easter – for us as Christians, it’s an excellent sign, an exquisite sign of the mercy of the Lord.”
According to Father Romanelli, Pope Francis’ final call to him was on Saturday. During the decision the pope thanked the Holy Family Church for all it had done in Gaza. The pope also gave his blessing to Christians and others in Gaza and requested that the church keep him of their prayers.
During his prolonged stay in Gemelli Hospital earlier this 12 months, the pope thanked the Holy Family Church for its prayers and “closeness” to him during his illness.
Father Romanelli added, “[He] was a really humble servant of the Lord.”
“All the time he told us, for this era – a couple of 12 months and a half, and he called each day, each day – he asked to assist people, to guard the kids.”
The Holy Family Church has not been resistant to the consequences of the violent conflict in the realm. In December 2023 two women were killed by Israeli sniper fire. In a separate incident, 18 people were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church.
