Patriarch and parish priest make first visit to Gaza since October

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, in a show of solidarity and support for the community.  

His pastoral visit was his first to Gaza since the 7 October attacks which began the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Pizzaballa was joined by a small delegation composed of Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, the grand hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Malta, and Fr Gabriel Romanelli IVE, the parish priest of Holy Family Church.

Fr Romanelli had been separated from his parish for seven months because he was in the West Bank when war broke out. He reported that the community was “as good as they can be after more than seven months of war”.

“The people are serene, even if there is a strong feeling of exhaustion, of depression, but it is equally true that many want to start life again, to rebuild, others are thinking of starting a life outside, albeit with great pain,” he said, praising the patriarch’s visit.

“All this is a sign of hope, even the people were very happy to see us again and to know that I am back and that I am staying here, with God’s help,” he said.

In a video message published by the patriarchate, Pizzaballa said the visit was made “to verify their conditions” and “to see what we can do to improve their conditions”.

The patriarch visited the Greek Orthodox Church of St Porphyrius and celebrated Pentecost Mass at the Holy Family Church, where he confirmed two children in the parish.

“I have come to bear witness first of all to my personal love and also to the love of the whole Church, united to our strong commitment to support you, and help you, in every possible way,” he said in his homily.

Speaking after the visit, Cardinal Pizzaballa described the “disorientation” of the visit. “The streets are no longer the same,” he said, “we passed through ruins, makeshift roads among piles of garbage. The places I was somewhat familiar with are unrecognisable. It is very difficult to find an intact house. We traveled in silence.”

A statement from a patriarchate said: “The visit is also the first stage of a joint humanitarian mission of the Latin Patriarchate and the Sovereign Order of Malta, in collaboration with Malteser International and other partners, aiming at the delivery of lifesaving food and medical help to the population in Gaza.”

The Holy Family parish, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, has provided vital spiritual and humanitarian support to the local population. Hundreds of Palestinians have taken refuge in the church since the war began. 

During his visit to Verona last weekend, Pope Francis attended an “Arena of Peace” event where an Israeli and a Palestinian, named Maoz and Aziz, described their experience of losing members of family in the war and appealed for efforts to find peace.  The Pope embraced both men.

After the Regina Coeli prayer on Pentecost Sunday, Pope Francis prayed that the Holy Spirit would bring harmony and peace to Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, and an end to all wars.

Pax Christi International ran an online campaign “Reflecting on Nakba, Embracing Pentecost” on 15-19 May, presenting voices of non-violence from the Holy Land. 

Nakba Day on 15 May commemorates what Palestinians call the “Catastrophe”, when the Palestinian population was displaced in 1948.

Speakers included Zoughbi Alzoughbi, director of the Wi’Am Conflict Transformation Centre in Bethlehem, Shadin Nassar from the Tent of Nations, and Toine van Teeffelen of the Arab Educational Institute, a Pax Christi partner.

Last weekend, Médecins Sans Frontières said that its medical teams “have witnessed a shocking increase in extreme violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”. Since 7 October, Israeli forces and settlers have reportedly killed 479 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 116 children.

In Gaza, tanks from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) surrounded Gaza’s last working hospital. On Monday, the Hamas-run health authority reported that IDF attacks in the past 24 hours had killed 106 people and injured another 176. In total, it records at least 35,562 dead and 79,652 wounded from IDF attacks since October.

On Monday, the senior prosecutor at the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges, as well as warrants for the Hamas leadership.

London, Dublin, Berlin, New York and Washington, DC saw marches for a ceasefire in Gaza last weekend in.

In the UK, ahead of a debate in the House of Commons on arms sales to Israel, an Oxfam petition calling for an end to sales received nearly 70,000 signatures, including from Archbishop William Nolan of Glasgow, Jill Kent, chair Justice and Peace Scotland, Cafod’s director Christine Allen, Tim Livesey, executive director of Embrace the Middle East, and Clare Short, the former Secretary of State for International Development.

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