Vatican City: Amid the ruins and relentless hardship in the Gaza Strip, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of Holy Family Church, offers a beacon of resilience. Speaking to Vatican News, Fr. Romanelli painted a grim but deeply human portrait of life inside Gaza, where dwindling food, contaminated water, and a total lack of medicine are overshadowed by a more haunting threat—the erosion of hope.
“What terrifies me most is not hunger or danger,” he said, “but that our people are beginning to lose the will to hope.” Describing a community systematically stripped of its rights and dignity, Fr. Romanelli underscored that Gaza’s suffering civilians, most of whom have no role in the conflict, continue to endure a humanitarian catastrophe in silence.
For nearly 20 months, Holy Family Church has become a sanctuary, now sheltering nearly 500 people—including 50 children under the care of Mother Teresa’s sisters. Once able to help thousands across Gaza regardless of faith, the parish is now forced to ration scarce, worm-infested flour and purify every drop of water for survival. Medicine has vanished entirely, making chronic illnesses a death sentence.
Even in this chaos, resilience finds expression in the surreal routines of daily life: children playing in the courtyard under the shadow of warplanes, worshippers continuing prayer as blasts shake the windows. “This rhythm of faith, more than any bunker, gives us strength,” Fr. Romanelli said.
He reflected with warmth on the late Pope Francis, whose nightly phone calls became a cherished ritual known as “the Pope’s hour.” Now, a new chapter begins with Pope Leo XIV, whose inaugural words brought new comfort to Gaza. “When he began with a prayer for peace, we rejoiced,” said Fr. Romanelli. “Catholics, Orthodox, and our Muslim brothers and sisters—we all felt seen, embraced.”
He shared a heartfelt message for the new pontiff: “Pope Leo, thank you. Your voice reached us in the darkness. We are praying for you, and we feel that you are praying for us. You are the father of the Church, yes—but here in Gaza, you are also the father of every soul clinging to hope.”
In a land where despair runs deep and supplies run dry, it is the echo of prayers and the weight of spiritual solidarity that keeps the flame of perseverance alive.