Nothing prepared me for the booms that shook the building and bounced me out of bed. I had been sleeping in my room at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, a stone’s throw from the Old City’s New Gate, oblivious to the fire power expected from Iran that night. But the alarms that followed a few minutes after the sound of exploding artillery shells bolted me from my room and into the lobby.

Notre Dame has survived artillery shells in the past, and it stood resolute that clear night in April as Israel’s vaunted Iron Dome neutralised Iran’s drones and missiles – albeit with the assistance of the US and the UK. I was in Jerusalem as part of a delegation led by the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan; we took shelter in the empty cellars.