Fr. Gabriel Romanelli has been the pastor of the Church of the Holy Family for the past 4 years. It is the only Catholic parish in the entire Gaza Strip and has become a refuge for many Christians fleeing the bombings.
Just over a thousand Catholics attended this parish before the outbreak of the latest wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Now, the church offers a place to sleep and food to more than a hundred people who have lost their homes in the bombings.
On October 11, just a few days after the Hamas attack on Israel's border with Gaza, this parish priest received a call from Pope Francis.
FR. GABRIEL ROMANELLI
Pastor in Gaza
I thanked him for his plea to cease all terrors, all wars, so that peace may be made, I hope it will really come.
But this was not the only call the Pope made. On October 14, he spoke with the assistant pastor and a group of sisters in charge of caring for both Christian and Muslim children.
FR. GABRIEL ROMANELLI
Pastor in Gaza
He called Father Yussef, the sisters and the community members who are staying there in the parish and gave them a blessing. It is truly a comfort. We know that the Holy Father's prayer represents the prayer of the whole Church.
During the Hamas attack on October 7, Father Romanelli was in Bethlehem.
FR. GABRIEL ROMANELLI
Pastor in Gaza
Really I feel, I know that this is the will of God, that He allowed, that He wanted me to be here, however my flock is there, my people are there, the souls that need to be helped are there.
Christians are the minority in Gaza as most of the population belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church. But there are also Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants.
PA
TR: KG
