Pope Francis meets family members of hostages, prays for their release

Family members of hostages being held captive in Gaza and Israelis who were freed from captivity meet with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Some of the families present the pope with gifts related to the hostages. The family of hostage Tal Shoham, from Kibbutz Be’eri, presents the pontiff with a soccer jersey of Shoham’s favorite team with his name on the back. Shoham’s 8-year-old son, Naveh — who was abducted and later released — had corresponded previously with Francis about their shared love of soccer.

The family of Oded Lifshitz, who was kidnapped with his wife from Kibbutz Nir Oz, gives the pope a pin made from Lifshitz’s cactus garden.

Freed hostage Louis Har, who grew up in Argentina, speaks in Spanish with the Argentinian pontiff and gives him a picture with the word “homeward.”

Yelena Trufanova, who was freed from captivity, also attended, a day after Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video of her son, Sasha, who is still being held hostage in Gaza.

Pope Francis says he feels close to the hostage families, and promises to do everything he can for their release. “The most important thing is to save people,” he says, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The meeting concludes with a silent prayer. “I hope that God releases these hostages,” Francis says.