The pastor of Gaza’s only Catholic parish has revealed that Pope Leo XIV sent a personal condolence message following an Israeli missile strike that killed five people, including a Christian mother and daughter. Source: Catholic Review.
In his daily video update posted to YouTube on Sunday, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish, read the pope’s “beautiful message” he received earlier, just one day after the missile strike that killed Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud and her daughter, Mary Hafez Michel Najjar.
“Good morning, Fr Gabriele. Ever since hearing the painful news about Maysa and Mary, I’ve been praying for them, their families, and everyone in Gaza. ‘How long, Lord?’” Pope Leo wrote, echoing a lament from Psalm 13.
“Thank you for standing by the parish and so many people who only want to live in peace. God bless, with a warm embrace.”
According to Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu Agency, the two women were among five people killed in the early hours of October 3 in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City.
The deaths were confirmed hours later in a statement by the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, which mourned the lives lost, including the two Christian women.
“Maysa and her daughter Mary had devoted their time to serving parishioners and displaced people sheltering at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, providing support and assistance amid the devastating humanitarian conditions facing the Gaza Strip,” Ramzi Khouri, head of the committee, said.
He added that the deaths of two women were “a painful loss for their families, the Church, and the parish community, and add to the growing number of martyrs among the Palestinian people in Gaza, who continue to endure death, destruction, and suffering on a daily basis.”
The mother and daughter were laid to rest hours after their deaths, following a funeral at St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza.
In his video update, Fr Romanelli said he was grateful for Pope Leo’s message and said the airstrike confirmed local fears “that there is not a single safe place in Gaza”, neither in their homes, in streets and their churches.
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Pope writes to Gaza priest after strike kills 5, including Christian mother, daughter (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News via Catholic Review)
