The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM, said on Friday that Pope Francis is known to the children of the Holy Family church in Gaza as “grandfather.”
During a press conference on December 6, organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need International, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem told reporters that “the Pope calls every day at 7:00 pm.”
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“It became a kind of status quo“Cardinal Pizzaballa said with a laugh. “Maybe half a minute, 30 seconds, maybe more, maybe less. And now he became the children’s grandfather, the Pope, because he is speaking. “Now they know he’s calling.”
“For the Gaza community it is a very great support, psychological, emotional and spiritual,” he added.
This Christmas, despite the war and bad conditions, Cardinal Pizzaballa said the Holy Family church in Gaza is preparing something special.
“Christmas is a children’s holiday,” he said. “What we will try to do, if we can, is introduce not only food, but also some toys. Something that will make a difference in the daily lives of children.”
Hope is the ability to see “beyond the dark reality”
According to Cardinal Pizzaballa, hope in the Holy Land at Christmas is a reality despite the multiple and complex challenges of the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Having lived in the Holy Land for more than 25 years, the Franciscan cardinal is well aware of the complicated and devastating impact of war and political tensions on Christians and other religious communities in the region.
“Where there are these acts of love, gratuitous love, there is hope,” he told reporters at the news conference.
“We have to say very clearly that we do not confuse hope with the solution,” he said. “If you identify hope for the future with the political (and) social solution for the Holy Land, there will be no hope because there is no solution, not in the short term.”
Describing hope as the “daughter of faith,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said that it is only through faith in a transcendent God that one has the ability to see “beyond the dark reality we are living.”
“I know a lot of people don’t believe me,” he said. “(But) it is a reality. “It’s real.”
“I find everywhere, from Gaza to the West Bank, Jerusalem to Israel, everywhere, I find wonderful people who are ready to commit, to commit to doing something for each other,” he continued.
The power of prayer
Emphasizing the importance of prayer, Cardinal Pizzaballa said: “First of all we must pray. “I believe in the power of prayer, not because prayer changes the situation, but because prayer will change our hearts.”
“And once we change, we also become protagonists of changes for the future,” added the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
A call for the return of pilgrims to the Holy Land
Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed his sadness that people have not come on pilgrimage to the Holy Land due to the escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas since October 7, 2023.
“It is time to return to the Holy Land,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said Friday. “In this last year, we did not see any pilgrims and this has ruined the life of the Holy Land.”
“The presence of Christians is part of our identity, the identity of the Church,” he added. “Have the courage to come because a pilgrimage is safe. Bethlehem is open. Nazareth, Jerusalem, our city is totally safe!”
“There is hope for the future,” he said. “We are not a dying Church, we are a living Church.”
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Kristina Miller
Kristina Millare is a freelance journalist with professional experience in communications in humanitarian aid and development, news journalism, entertainment marketing, politics and government, business and entrepreneurship.