Priest of Gaza is trying everything to protect his besieged community

On Dec 31, 2023

Père Gabriel Romanelli, curé pour le patriarchat latin de jérusalem, à la paroisse catholique de La Sainte Famille de Gaza, en entrevue au patriarchat de Jérusalem, le 27 décembre 2023. ADRIENNE SURPRENANT / MYOP POUR « LE MONDE »

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA)- Since the October 7 Hamas attack, Gabriel Romanelli has been unable to return to the Palestinian enclave.

Until he is allowed back in, he is doing his best from a distance to help the 600 people who have taken refuge in his parish.

le Mode reported in Bethlehem on December 25, as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa celebrated mass, Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza, was desperately awaiting news from his parish.

That Christmas night, while the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was calling for an “end to hostilities” in the Palestinian enclave, the telephone network was cut off in Gaza.

The 54-year-old Argentinian priest had to wait until the early hours of the morning to receive a message from Father Youssef, his vicar in charge of the 600 refugees inside the Holy Family parish church in the Zeitoun district.

For security reasons, their midnight mass had to be organized in the afternoon, with a procession limited to the church grounds.