Father Gabriel Romanelli is responsible for the Church of the Holy Family, the only Catholic parish in the entire Gaza Strip and which has also become a refuge for hundreds of people fleeing the bombings and the violence that is affecting this entire territory. In an interview with the ACN, he speaks about the urgency of peace and says that, in these days, everyone lives there as in the first Christian communities, sharing everything and helping everyone.
The situation “remains critical, because the bombings continue day and night, and the number of deaths and injuries continues to increase”, he explained. “Every death, every injured person or hostage is a tremendous injustice and a source of great pain” he added.
Despite everything, Father Gabriel says that the community, now sheltered in the parish, is doing well. They are living like the first Christians, sharing everything they find and helping everyone they can. They also opened other Catholic schools for people to take shelter, and there are more than 2,500 people staying at the Holy Family School, which is in another neighborhood, for example”
The Christian community in Gaza is deeply affected and more people come to ask the Catholic Church for shelter. “Currently, there are more than 700 of us, including children with disabilities”, describes the Argentine missionary.
Asked about how the Christian community, housed in the only Catholic parish in Gaza, can be helped, Father Gabriel highlights the importance of prayer. But material support is also important.
“The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is opening an official aid channel to provide as many people as possible with material aid, water, fuel for electricity, etc. Before the war, we only had four hours of electricity a day, and now we have nothing. I invite you to be generous, so that we can help as many people as possible,” he said.
We ask for prayers, may the Lord have mercy on us all and grant us peace, and may this war come to an end. We also ask that this conflict be talked about and that all people, politicians, diplomats, journalists and men and women of goodwill try to convey words of peace and reconciliation, instead of letting themselves be dragged down by circumstances.”
