From different parts of the world, the faithful have joined in prayer for the health of Pope Francis, regardless of circumstances. A clear example of this is the Catholic community in Gaza, which, in the midst of the conflict, sent an emotional message of closeness and prayer by the Pontiff, who remains hospitalized in the Gemelli Hospital.
Through a video in Spanish and English, published on February 25 in Vatican News, the parishioners of the parish of the Sagrada Familia, in Gaza, including children, young people, the elderly, religious and priests, expressed their gratitude and closeness with the Holy Father.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
“Dear Holy Father, here from Gaza, those who participated in today’s Mass. It has been very cold for a long time, but we want to show him our gratitude, our closeness, our prayer. Everyone prays for you and is very grateful, and we all want your health, ”said Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Church.
The message was headed by the Argentine missionary priest P. Romanelli, who, together with his community, remains a refugee in the parish and school since the beginning of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Closeness with Gaza
This solidarity message responds to the gestures of closeness that Pope Francis has had with the Gaza community. In a video view published on the website of the Latin Patriarchy of Jerusalem, Fr. Romanelli said that, since the beginning of the war, they have maintained daily contact with the Holy Father through video calls at 7:00 p.m. During these calls, the Pontiff has given them their blessing and shared moments with children.
“As he has done every day since the beginning of this terrible war, Pope Francis has called us once again to show us his closeness, to pray for us and to give us his blessing,” said Father Romanelli.
Gaza’s pastor also reported that on February 25, despite his critical state due to bilateral pneumonia, Pope Francis communicated again with the community. “We are with joy to hear his voice,” he said.
“As a parish of the Sagrada Familia de Gaza, which belongs to the Latin patriarchy of Jerusalem, we are glad to hear his voice,” he added.
The parish building, the only Catholic Church in the Gaza Strip, became an impromptu shelter at the beginning of the war. Currently, it houses 500 people who have found shelter in the middle of the bombings. In addition to providing material help, the Catholic community has been a lighthouse of hope in the midst of violence.
Father Romanelli considers it essential to keep evangelical virtues alive to achieve a definitive peace. According to the Latin patriarchy of Jerusalem, until August 2024, the Catholic population in Gaza had reduced to less than 400 people.
Although most refugees in the parish are Christians – orthodox, Protestants and Catholics – have also welcomed more than 50 Muslim children with disabilities and their families.
For Father Romanelli, Pope Francis’s calls have been a comfort, interrupted only when the Pontiff suffered, on Saturday morning, a prolonged respiratory crisis that forced doctors to administer oxygen with a mask.
“Knowing that, despite its delicate state of health, it continues to think and pray for all, for peace in Gaza, it is deeply comforting,” he said in the video recorded in English. He also thanked the pontiff for his “constant prayers.”
Diego López Colín
I am a graduate of journalism at the Carlos Septién García school with experience of religious institutional communication. Since 2016 I write for digital media and, since 2018, I report the most important news about the Catholic event in Mexico for the Ewtn news channel. ACI Press correspondent in Mexico since 2023.