Gaza’s Christians ‘heartbroken’ over pope who phoned them nightly throughout war

Members of Gaza’s tiny Christian community say they are “heartbroken” over the death of Pope Francis, who campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave and spoke to them on the phone almost every evening throughout the war.

Across the wider Middle East, Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, praised Francis’ constant engagement with them as a source of solace at a time when their communities faced wars, disasters, hardship and persecution.

“We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong. We lost a man who fought every day in every direction to protect this small herd of his,” George Antone, 44, head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, tells Reuters.

Francis called the church hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Antone says — the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war. He would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room, Antone says.

حبيب القلب والناس، أبانا الودود، الخلوق والإنسان؛ لم ينس فلسطين ولم ينس رعاياه في غزة، هاتفهم كل يوم حين تركهم العالم. pic.twitter.com/aNEK12JKmw

— Hamzé Attar (@hamzattar) April 21, 2025

“We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name – every single one of us,” Antone said, referring to the Christians of Gaza who number in the hundreds.

“He used to tell each one: I am with you, don’t be afraid.”

Rest in peace, Pope Francis. The Christians of Gaza will miss you deeply—your love, your phone calls, your unwavering solidarity.pic.twitter.com/eGaw4YMl48

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 21, 2025

Francis phoned a final time on Saturday night, the pastor of the Holy Family parish, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, tells the Vatican News Service.

“He said he was praying for us, he blessed us, and he thanked us for our prayers,” Romanelli says.

The next day, in his last public statement on Easter, Francis appealed for peace in Gaza, telling the warring parties to “call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”