Gaza priest says staying put, gets call from pope

(ANSA) – ROME, SEP 16 – Father Gabriel Romanelli, the priest of the Catholic Holy Family parish in Gaza, said Tuesday that he was staying put after Israel launched its offensive to take control of Gaza City.
The Vatican, meanwhile, said on Tuesday Pope Leo XIV had telephoned Romanelli to express his “concern” and assure him of his “prayer and closeness”.
Romanelli told Italian State broadcaster Rai’s Agora programme that: “the situation had already been bad for a long time and unfortunately it’s getting worse.
“We are fine,” he continued.
“We hear a lot of shelling, especially in the west and north-west area of Gaza city. “We are in the east.
“We are still here with our 450-odd refugees.
“We distribute what we have to the refugees and also to our neighbours and there are very many of them”.
Romanelli was among several wounded in a strike by Israeli forces on the Holy Family Catholic Church that killed three people in July.
Before his death in April, Pope Francis had spoken by phone nearly every day with Romanelli to check up on the Gaza parish following the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 (ANSA).
Read article…