The first time he spoke to Pope Francis during the night calls of the pontiff at the Catholic church of the Holy Family of Gaza City, the faithful George Antone, 44, found himself as far as the loss of words.
It was in October 2023, a few weeks after Hamas ignited a devastating war in the Gaza Strip by attacking Israel. The tiny Christian community of the Palestinian territory had sheltered in the three churches of the strip, but that did not mean that they were safe. An Israeli air strike had just struck the Greek Orthodox church, killing 18 people; Soon, elite shooters and bombs would also kill civilians in the Holy Family.
“I was so shy when Father Yousef gave me the phone, and there was his holiness on the screen that looked at me. I said to myself, “What am I dreaming of, what am I talking to him about?” He was smiling and sweet, he asked me what I had to eat that day on my family, “said Antone.
“We talked about everything. He taught us all the knowledge … Despite everything on his shoulders in this world, he cared about us in Gaza. We have the impression that we lost our father. ”
The Gaza population has undergone terrible losses over 18 months of war. Although they have never met in person, Francis’ diligent calls every night for a year and a half allowed the Christian community in the Palestinian territory to know that they were not forgotten, and his death on Monday was a blow.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentinian who has been the parish priest of the Holy Family since 2019, said: “Even after being hospitalized, he continued to call us. Our sorrow is deep because we have lost someone we thought we became a member of our church. ”
Francis was a vocal defender at the end of the war; He used his last public speech, of the Balcony of the Basilica of Saint-Pierre on Easter Sunday, to condemn the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in Gaza and implored Israel and Hamas to “call on a ceasefire, release hostages and come with the help of an affected people who aspire to a future of peace”.
The 88 -year -old pope called the two priests of the Holy Family as soon as the war broke out to verify the situation and offer the prayers and the advice of the community. In what has become a night routine, at 8 p.m., Gaza Time Sharp, Francis would call – and insisted on everyone about their hopes and fears, not just priests, said another congregator, Bahia Ayad, 80.
“He felt our pain and suffering deeply. He told us not to be afraid. He said,” I am with you and I will fight for you, I will call peace and ask everyone to keep you safe “,” she said.
“He told us to take care of us, to be patient and that war would end like all wars before.”
Francis made several visits in the Middle East during his 12-year term, including the first papal visit to Iraq in 2021, during which he addressed the scars left by religious conflicts and extremism. To the news of his death, the Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrians Christian leaders spoke of his commitment to the fate of the often frozen Christian minority.
Under his direction, the Vatican recognized Palestine’s state in 2015. In the war in Gaza, Francis criticized the actions of Israel loudly and on several occasions, and asked for an investigation on the question of whether the conflict was equivalent to a genocide – an accusation of Israel.
Although Francis left, the Vatican support for the Holy Family continues. The church currently houses around 500 people, Christian and Muslim, and serves as the basis for food, water and medical aid for thousands of neighboring families. Given that Israel reprinted a total blockade on Gaza and the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire in early March, the humanitarian crisis of the strip reached unprecedented levels.
The Pope’s last call to the Sainte-Famille church took place on Saturday evening. It was brief, said Romanelli, because the pontiff was sick and occupied with Easter.
For Ayad, Francis’s Easter Sunday address was a poignant final message.
She said: “His last statement, which he made one day before his death, brought us great joy. When the war resumed, we thought that everyone had abandoned us – Arab, foreign, the whole world.
“It made us feel that there are still people who defend us and call at the end of the war against Gaza.”