ROME – As the church begins its Advent and Christmas seasons, the priest of Gaza’s lone Catholic parish stressed the importance of stepping up one’s spiritual life amid the tragedies of war, and said the Pope’s attention to them has been a major consolation.

“It is truly a tough time,” said Fr Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentinian priest who has served in the Holy Land for over 25 years, and who for the past six years has been pastor of the small Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza.

In an interview with Father Ibrahim Nino, Director of the Media Office at the Latin Patriarchate, posted to the patriarchate’s website, Romanelli noted that since the war in Gaza broke out following an October 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, both Pope Francis and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, have been in constant contact with him and his parish.