The late Pope Francis called Gaza’s only Catholic church every day during 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 of just three churches in Gaza, the other two being Orthodox and Baptist. Over 500 people, representing over half of Gaza’s Christian population are sheltering at the church compound due to ongoing conflict.
Father Gabriel Romanelli who heads the church and, like the late pope, is Argentinian, gave his reflections on the pope’s death to Sky News.
"It's a very sad day for us," he said.
"We lost him. In the same time, we lost him in Easter - for us as Christians, it's a good sign, a wonderful sign of the mercy of the Lord."
According to Father Romanelli, Pope Francis’ final call to him was on Saturday. During the call 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 in their prayers.
During his extended stay in Gemelli Hospital earlier this year, the pope thanked the Holy Family Church for its prayers and “closeness” to him during his illness.
Father Romanelli added, "[He] was a very humble servant of the Lord."
"All the time he told us, for this period - more than one year and a half, and he called every day, every day - he asked to help people, to protect the children."
The Holy Family Church has not been immune to the effects of the violent conflict in the area. 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.
