Every night during war, Pope Francis called Gaza's only Catholic Church in 'singular expression of love'
Father Gabriel Romanelli says pontiff sometimes called multiple times a day when bombings were very bad
On Monday night, following the news of the death of Pope Francis, Father Gabriel Romanelli's cellphone did not ring at 8 p.m. as it normally would.
This was normally the time the pontiff would call the priest at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City every night throughout the war to check on how those huddled inside Gaza's lone Catholic church were coping with a devastating war.
In an interview with CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault on Monday, Romanelli recalled how children in the church would run over to listen in when he would take the Pope's calls with his vice rector, Father Youssef Assaad. He says they would cheer "The Pope! Viva Papa!" (Long live the Pope!) and ask for his blessings.
Usually, he said, when the phone rang at 8 p.m., people knew it was time for "Santo Padre," referring to the Italian phrase meaning Holy Father.
So on Monday, when the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had died at age 88, Gaza's tiny Christian community gathered at the church to mourn and pray in his honour.
Pope repeated ceasefire call in final address
In addition to his nightly communications with Palestinian Christians in Gaza, Pope Francis also made public comments about the Israel-Hamas war.
It began after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and some 250 people taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's responding onslaught on the Gaza Strip, Gaza Health Ministry officials say.
In November 2023, Francis met separately with Israeli relatives of hostages held by Hamas, as well as Palestinians with family in Gaza, and soon after told followers he had heard directly how "both sides were suffering" in the conflict.
During his 2024 Easter message, he issued an appeal for peace, called for the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians, as well as an immediate ceasefire.
In November the same year, in the book Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims Toward a Better World, by journalist Hernán Reyes Alcaide, Francis called for an investigation into whether Israel's ground offensive in Gaza constituted a genocide.
Sunday — the day before he died — in his final address from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square, Francis again called for a ceasefire in Gaza, condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation," and expressed his "closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people."
A fervent advocate of interfaith relations, he also urged Hamas to release the dozens of Israeli hostages it continues to hold and condemned growing global antisemitism.
Nightly calls gave people 'sign of hope'
But as the war was ramping up in Gaza in 2023, Romanelli said he was surprised by what was the first of many calls he would receive from Vatican City.
Soon, though, they found common ground.
Because both he and Pope Francis are originally from Buenos Aires, Romanelli says they would converse in Spanish, with the pontiff asking about the situation in Gaza, how the people were doing in the midst of the war, and everyday things like if they had enough food and what they had eaten that day.
"It was a singular expression of his love, his concern. A real concern for the good of all and a sign of the good shepherd," he said. "People feel abandoned, but the call of the Pope gave a very hard sign of hope."
On the darker days of the war, when the bombing was very bad, Romanelli says Pope Francis would call "three, four, five times on the same day."
Though he admits he isn't entirely sure why Francis took it upon himself to make the nightly calls, Romanelli says they brought much needed comfort to him and his small congregation in Gaza City.
The last call he received from Pope Francis was on Saturday, when he said the Pope spoke a bit of Arabic as he thanked the priests for their service and prayers.
"He told us, 'Thank you — shukran — for your service, for your prayers.' "
And as 8 p.m. came and went on Monday night, Romanelli sat in his office in the quiet of the church, reflecting on how he felt.
"We are convinced that he is in heaven," he said. "Now, we can call him at any time."
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With files from Mohamed El Saife, The Associated Press and Reuters