The small Christian community of Gaza is mourning for the death of Pope Francis, who had maintained a close and consistent video contact with the Palestinian devotees through the war that continues to devastate the enclave.
From the outbreak of the fight between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, Francis was regularly called the Christians of Gaza, or several times a week, offering prayers, breath and solidarity.
“I always hoped to hear the word of the Holy Father. I would see it on television and through the screens. We cools with their messages and prayers,” said Elias Al-Sayegh, 49, from Zeitoun.
“We feel alive for their prayers and blessings. Every day, the renewed hope of war and the bloodshed. Their prayers will remain with us for peace in the country of peace, Palestine.”
“I would like to participate in the prayers in the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher,” he added, referring to the ancient churches in Bethlehem in Western West Bank and Jerusalem.
“With the death of the Pope, in Gaza we feel how we think that a light of love and peace has been extinguished,” said George Ayad, 67, from Al-Sahaba.
“I thought the Vatican is far, his voice always reached our hearts: he never stopped asking for peace and justice.
“In the midst of pain and the suffocating block we endure, we cling to his words a lighthouse of hope. The Pope never forgot Gaza in his prayers, and today we sacrifice our soul.”