Parish priest after attack on Gaza’s only Catholic church: “Everything happened in seconds”
The Church of the Holy Family, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, was hit last Thursday, 17 July, in an attack that left its community mired in pain and uncertainty. A shell, according to initial reports, fired from an Israeli tank killed three people and wounded 15 more, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentine missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word.
“They have been and continue to be very hard days,” Father Romanelli begins in a video message on YouTube, recorded on Saturday, 19 July, just two days after the attack. The voice of the Argentine priest conveys the seriousness of the drama that the small Christian community of Gaza, made up of just a few hundred faithful who now live sheltering inside the parish, is going through.
A refuge turned into a scene of tragedy
On the day of the tragedy, Father Gabriel had just finished morning prayers and a work meeting when he crossed paths on the stairs with Suhail, a young postulant to the Institute of the Incarnate Word. “We hadn’t even finished the greeting when a big explosion was heard. Screams, dust, debris… everything happened very quickly,” says the priest.
The reality of the attack only became apparent seconds later. “I felt the explosion; I saw pieces of wall and ceiling falling. I immediately tried to help those who had been hit by shrapnel and debris,” Father Gabriel explains.
Suhail was hit in the side by shrapnel and was hospitalised in a serious condition. The priest was wounded in the leg and side but was able to continue assisting the others until receiving medical attention later. Only a miracle prevented this incident from claiming over 40 more victims – people who normally gather in the courtyard directly opposite the church entrance.
Between 500-600 displaced people are housed in the parish structures: “Children, the elderly, many sick or people with disabilities,” according to the missionary. Two elderly women lost their lives in the attack, one of them was Suhail’s grandmother, the third victim was the gatekeeper who was sitting outside the church doing his work.
“To see these people leave, who were so dear and with whom we share every day… it is an enormous pain,” laments the missionary.
The consolation of faith and solidarity
In a second YouTube message, shared with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on 20 July, the priest comments on the situation in Gaza: “The war continues today. There are many deaths. The figures are terrifying. […] The heat is oppressive. Today, the felt temperature was 42 degrees, and they say it will continue like this. The bombings do not stop. […] We have even had close bombardments, with some shrapnel bursts; those who have lived through them know that shrapnel, sadly, not only makes noise, but also injures and kills.”
Father Gabriel speaks of the two seriously injured who are still in the hospital: “Nayib, a young man in a wheelchair, with a wound in a lung, is better. He prays, he has always been very prayerful, he continues to pray and asks for prayers, he is still hospitalised. The truth is that the conditions in the hospital where he is hospitalised are deplorable. […] Most of the hospitals in the strip have been destroyed.” The other is the young postulant Suhail, 19, who has undergone a major operation, “and now he will have to be patient in his recovery.”
Father Gabriel highlights in his messages the three-day visit of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who arrived on Friday, 18 July, together with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III. “It is a blessing for the people to have him, to pray with him, to see him, to ask for blessings, to listen to him so he can console us,” says Father Gabriel.
The priest underlines the solidarity of Pope Leo XIV – who called the parish and spoke with the priests and religious sisters to express their closeness after the explosion and who has also spoken several times with Cardinal Pizzaballa, including during his stay in Gaza. International support is now essential explains Father Gabriel: “It encourages us to continue; it reminds us that we are not alone even if the pain is immense.”
Research with no clear answers
Israeli authorities have confirmed that the attack is being investigated, although Christian leaders recall that nobody was held accountable for another similar case in 2023. In their statement after the attack, the patriarchs and heads of the Churches of Jerusalem said:
” Houses of worship are sacred spaces that should be kept safe. They are also protected under international law. Targeting a church that houses approximately 600 refugees, including children with special needs, is a violation of these laws. It is also an affront to human dignity, a trampling upon the sanctity of human life, and the desecration of a holy site. ”
They “call upon world leaders and United Nations agencies to work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that leads to an end of this war. We also implore them to guarantee the protection of all religious and humanitarian sites, and to provide for the relief of the starving masses throughout the Gaza Strip.”
Father Gabriel concludes his message with a similar request: “Pray for peace, for the cessation of violence. Here life has become unliveable for everyone, especially for the most vulnerable. We pray that, through prayer and help, the Christian community may continue to be a witness of hope.”
ACN’s emergency aid for Christians in the West Bank and Gaza is channelled through the Patriarchate. In a message recently sent to the charity, the Patriarchate thanks ACN’s benefactors for their support: “Let us thank each and every one of you for your love and dedication to the Holy Land, especially in these difficult times. You have shown the utmost generosity and responsibility since the outbreak of this ugly war, empowering us to do so much for the poorest and most vulnerable communities across the region.”
By Maria Lozano.
