The only Catholic parish in the Palestinian enclave is not spared from the fighting. Saturday December 16, two women were “killed in cold blood” by Israeli army snipers. “Faced with the evil that is unleashed, we must always consider the supreme Good: eternal life,” reminds Aleteia of Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of the Catholic parish of The Holy Family in Gaza.
ocated in the heart of Gaza City, the Holy Family parish complex – which includes the church, several premises and the convent of the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa – was targeted this Saturday, December 16 by Israeli army snipers. Two women, a mother and her daughter, lost their lives. An event that Pope Francis once again forcefully denounced during the Angelus this Sunday. “Some people say: ‘It’s terrorism, it’s war’. Yes, it’s war, it’s terrorism,” he said, implicitly denouncing the justifications given to the Israeli assault on Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7. The Holy Family Parish became a rallying point from the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. The approximately 150 Catholic faithful in the territory quickly found refuge there after seeing their homes destroyed by Israeli strikes. Other Orthodox Christian families joined them. More than 600 people are currently there and refuse to leave, despite the incessant fighting surrounding them and injunctions from the IDF to reach the south of the enclave.
“This attack is incomprehensible because our parish has been reported as a place of worship since the start of the war. In any case, it aggravates a situation that was already dramatic,” Father Gabriel Romanelli, Argentine missionary, who is the priest of this parish, told Aleteia. He was not in Gaza at the time of the Hamas attacks on Israel (October 7) and the outbreak of war; he was therefore unable to return to his flock. Stuck in Jerusalem, he is in constant contact with his vicar there, the nuns and faithful of his small suffering community. Interview.
Aleteia: What information do you have on this attack on Saturday?
Father Gabriel Romanelli : It happened around noon. An Israeli sniper shot two parishioners, Naheda and Samar, as they went to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity convent. They were killed in cold blood, inside our premises, even though no belligerent was there. Seven other people were injured by gunfire while trying to protect those inside the parish. There was no warning from the army.
The 54 disabled people who lived there had to be moved, some were deprived of the respirators necessary for their survival.
Earlier in the morning, an Israeli tank launched rockets at the convent of the Sisters of Mother Teresa, destroying an electricity generator and damaging the house. The 54 disabled people who lived there had to be moved, some were deprived of the respirators necessary for their survival. Other bombings destroyed solar panels as well as water tanks that the entire community needs… This attack is incomprehensible because our parish has been reported since the start of the war as a place of worship. In any case, it aggravates a situation which was already dramatic.
What can you tell us about these two parishioners who lost their lives?
We knew them very well, they were important and active members of the parish. Naheda Anton (Um Emad) was the mother of seven children, almost all married, and grandmother of around twenty grandchildren. Samar was one of his daughters. She was also the cook for Mother Teresa’s sisters and helped us a lot in the parish, particularly within the Legion of Mary. Always at service, discreet, very pious. We see her in almost all the photos of the parish, she was present at all the celebrations, at the prayers of the rosary. It’s a great pain.
In such a context of violence and anguish, what meaning does Advent and the celebration of the birth of the Lord have? for Christians in Gaza?
I have 28 years of missionary experience in the Middle East and I can tell you that people here believe in God, even those who call themselves atheists! And maybe that’s because it’s the Holy Land. The land where God manifested himself, already in the time of the Old Testament, the land of the Incarnation. God walked these roads, died and rose again here. Here the Church he founded was born. All this left a special imprint.
In this context of war, Advent takes on a very spiritual meaning. He invites us to raise our souls, to look towards Heaven where salvation and peace come from which were proclaimed on the evening of the Lord’s birth.
Our small community is therefore very religious, fervent, attached to the Virgin Mary and to the celebration of the sacraments. And today, in this context of war, Advent takes on a very spiritual meaning. He invites us to raise our souls, to look towards Heaven where salvation and peace come from which were proclaimed on the evening of the Lord’s birth. We pray that this peace will be given to the world, especially in Gaza, that a ceasefire will finally be declared, that the war will stop. Of course, it is not easy, because our faithful are exhausted, distressed. But they hold on. An example: the parishioners who were injured on Saturday returned the next day to Mass and took communion. This does not mean they are holy or perfect. This means that they are men and women of faith, who desire holiness and know that, to obtain it, we must pray, forgive, be forgiven, receive the sacraments, live what is given to us to live. And the Lord has allowed them to be, today, on the Calvary of war.
Will the Christmas mass still take place?
Of course! It will be celebrated earlier, God willing, and without the festivities that usually accompany it.
What message do you want to convey today to the Christians who will read you?
Faced with the evil that is unleashed, we must always consider the Supreme Good: eternal life. Even though this Advent season is marked by suffering, in many parts of the world, we must not give in to sadness, on the contrary! Let us think about putting our lives in order, repenting of our faults, practicing charity, praying a lot. And then, let’s each ask ourselves: how much time do I devote to spreading the Gospel, to proclaiming the Truth? How much time do I spend with others? It is terrible to see to what extent, in our current societies, the elderly, disabled people and children are abandoned. What do I do for these people? Our young people from Gaza, some of whom were injured on Saturday, are very active within our parish: one of them is a scout leader, the other is in charge of the altar servers… Since the start of the war, they formed small committees to take care of the surveillance and security of the parish complex, children, disabled people, etc. They set an example for us.
