Calls from pope to Gaza church bring ‘great joy,’ says parish priest

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Getting phone calls from the pope continues to bring “great joy” to the hundreds of people receiving shelter and support from the only Latin-rite Catholic church in Gaza, the parish priest said.

About 450 people forced to flee their homes, mostly the elderly, the sick and children, are housed in the Holy Family Church compound, Argentine Father Gabriel Romanelli told Vatican Media Sept. 10 in a video message.

Pope Francis, a fellow Argentine, called the parish priest almost every day for more than a year and a half since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023 and including just two days before his death in April.

Father Romanelli told Vatican Media that Pope Leo XIV also has called them, but he did not specify how often.

After Israel launched an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar Sept. 9, Pope Leo told reporters gathered outside the Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo that he had just tried to phone the parish in Gaza City.

“I just tried to call the pastor, but I have no news,” the pope had said, expressing concern about a new evacuation order from Israel; Israeli planes had dropped leaflets on Gaza City in the morning, warning of a new attack on the city and encouraging civilians to evacuate.

Father Romanelli then shared a video with Vatican Media Sept. 10 saying he and other residents had been able to speak to the pope after his attempt to call. “We told him that we are fine, that the situation continues to be difficult.”

“Most of the population does not want to leave,” he said, underlining that “we continue to be near them.”

“We are fine, despite the terrible situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” he told Vatican Media in his video.

In a video shared on his Instagram channel Sept. 10, Father Romanelli said it was not the first time Pope Leo called.

“He is always closely following the situation and is very committed to ending this war, to working and praying for peace,” the priest said in Spanish. The pope “sends his blessings to everyone, to the entire Gaza Strip, to the entire parish community.”

“It is a great joy to be in communication with the Holy Father, with Pope Leo,” he said.

The priest explained he was unable to answer the phone when the pope called because they were in the middle of a long, beautiful liturgical celebration.

He told Vatican Media they were celebrating Mass and the sacrament of matrimony for a Catholic couple, “so a great joy.”

Other joyful news, “in the midst of so much sorrow,” he said, was the birth of a baby boy named Marcos. The mother is one of the many internally displaced people they are sheltering.

Priests at both the compounds of the Holy Family Church and the Greek Orthodox St. Porphyrius Church have refused to evacuate since they were providing refuge for hundreds of civilians who have nowhere else to go.

Both church compounds have been damaged by Israeli forces — St. Porphyrius in October 2023, and Holy Family in December 2023 and in July of this year. Israel’s military said the strikes were unintentional.

Father Romanelli referred to the aftermath of those attacks in his video to Vatican Media, saying, “We continue to stay here in the parish with the people we care for,” which includes families and “a considerable number” of those who are elderly, sick and children.

“In other parts of Gaza City, there are people who are moving south,” he said, emphasizing that “most of the population does not want to leave.”

“Many say the same thing we have heard since the beginning of the war: Everywhere there is danger, there are bombardments, real danger, there is death, bombings, injuries, destruction,” he said.

However, since many want to continue living in the city, he said, “we continue with our daily activities, which is what we can do. We have been able to help many families.”

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