Pastor of Holy Family parish organizes education, services and activities for his congregation under fire in Gaza.
By Judith Sudilovsky, OSV News
JERUSALEM (OSV News) — Since his return to Gaza City’s Holy Family Parish in May, Father Gabriel Romanelli has been working to organize educational and pastoral activities for the parish youth who have been out of their classrooms since the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israeli communities and a retaliatory war that has raged for over nine months.
Holy Family parish, a refuge from war
The St. Joseph educational project — named after St. Joseph for the protection he gave the Holy Family — is for the 150 Christian youth sheltering at the parish compound and at the nearby Greek Orthodox church compound. The project initially began two months ago but was suspended following early July Israeli bombardments of the school compound.
Israeli airstrikes took place overnight July 6-7 in Gaza City, killing 13 Palestinians. The strike against Holy Family School, which was operating as a shelter, claimed the lives of four people, including Ihab al-Ghussein, Hamas’ undersecretary of labor.
Since the attack, OSV News has tried to contact the parish to ask about the living conditions for 500 people still sheltering on the premises of Holy Family Church. Another 200 Christians are living in the Greek Orthodox church.
Classes resumed July 22, Father Romanelli confirmed, with parish teachers who are also sheltering in the compound leading classes in various settings including inside a gazebo, on a veranda and in the chapel of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word.
“A few weeks ago we had to suspend (the project) because the situation in our neighborhood was very dangerous, with bombings very close and many shrapnel falling within the property,” Father Romanelli told OSV News in a Whatsapp message. “Today, we start again.”
Priests, sisters determined to stay with their flock
Father Romanelli, originally from Argentina, was outside of Gaza when the war broke out, and was joined on his return by Father Carlos Fererro, provincial superior of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word. Until their arrival, Father Yusuf Assad, assistant priest, ministered to the parish as the sole priest together with Rosary Sister Nabila Saleh and Incarnate Word Sisters María del Pilar and María del Perpetuo Socorro Llerena Vargas, twin sisters from Peru who declined to be evacuated at the start of the war.
The project is temporary, the priest said, in the hopes that they will be able to begin a more formal 2024-2025 school year in August. They are searching for ways to create proper classrooms as all the school classrooms are now used as living quarters by the sheltering families, possibly by renting a nearby lot and placing large shipping containers there.
“We are preparing everything to be able to restart in a few weeks with the school of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in a more systematic way and teaching Christian and Muslim children and adolescents as usual,” Father Romanelli said. “While this war lasts … it is going to be very difficult but we want to offer a little hope and opportunities to our children.”
The parish has not able to assess the damages sustained by its Holy Family School in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood after it was targeted in two airstrikes by Israeli forces in early July, said Latin Patriarchate CEO Sami El-Yousef, who is in sporadic contact as much as the communication networks allow with Father Romanelli.
Hundreds of people were sheltering at the school at the time, he said — mostly Muslim neighbors in what was once Gaza’s most prestigious neighborhood.
Israel accuses Hamas of embedding itself among civilians and claimed that the school complex had been used as a militant hideout and Hamas weapons manufacturing facility.
Latin Patriarchate gives witness to dire situation
The school is a 10-minute drive from the main parish compound which includes the Latin Patriarchate school and church, where most of the Christian community has been sheltering almost since the start of the war.
“We don’t have any of our people there (at the Holy Family School) so we honestly don’t know what is going on there all the time. To my knowledge they have not been able to get to the site to survey the damage themselves,” said El-Yousef. He noted that photos sent to them indicate that there has been considerable damage to the structure, including to the kindergarten building, the third floor and solar panels, and the school will most likely have to be demolished and rebuilt.
He said Father Romanelli has expressed shock at what he saw in his parish but his return injected a spirit of energy and faith into the parish, which is experiencing fatigue and trauma after nine months of war.
The priest has been organizing pastoral activities including regular Masses, birthday parties, anniversary parties and even one engagement party as he endeavors to maintain a sense of normalcy in difficult times, said El-Yousef.
Fuel necessary to run the water pump is in short supply, and very expensive, he noted. While they have been able to purchase enough staples such as oil, flour and rice, he said, the parish has not had any meat, chicken, fruits or vegetables for several months. Procuring medicines has also been a challenge, he added. They have been cooking communally, including making a traditional soup from local wild greens foraged nearby, El-Yousef said.
Pope Francis makes daily phone calls to Holy Family
The Latin Patriarchate CEO said Pope Francis continues to call the parish every evening at 8 p.m., as he has done throughout the war.
“I think what is holding them together is their focus on faith and hope. The communal pastoral activities and gatherings for various age groups organized by Father Gabriel help take their minds off of the daily misery,” said El-Yousef. “When you see their pictures on (social media), you see a happy community, but inside they are highly traumatized. The activities focusing on faith have helped the community for the time being.”
Middle East bishops continue to call for peace and a two-state solution
Meanwhile, the Chaldean bishops of Iraq have joined in a call a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine can both live in “peace” and “security.”
At the end of the annual synod held July 15-19 in Baghdad’s Al-Mansour district, Iraqi bishops expressed deep concern for the many conflicts raging in the Middle East, “especially in the Holy Land.”
In a statement issued July 19, the bishops condemned “all forms of violence” and urged the international community to always uphold peace and actively engage to put an immediate end to the war.
For the Iraqi bishops, a two-state solution is the option that would bring peace to the Holy Land.
They said they “believe that the best solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to establish two neighboring states that live in peace, security, stability, and mutual trust.”
Two hostages reported dead; Palestinian death toll at 39,000
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington July 22 for a long-planned visit, with meetings scheduled at the White House July 23 and an address to Congress July 24. He faces a backlash at home as dozens of Israelis are still held hostage by Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, with two hostages confirmed dead July 22.
The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that hostages Alexander Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab are dead and, according to The Jerusalem Post, were probably mistakenly killed by IDF forces during battles in Khan Yunis “months ago.”
The Associated Press reported that the Israeli military July 22 ordered the evacuation of part of a crowded area in the Gaza Strip it had designated a humanitarian zone and is planning an operation against Hamas militants there as Palestinian death toll reached 39,000, according to Gaza Strip officials.
Featured image: A teacher at Gaza City’s Holy Family Parish is seen July 22, 2024 in a classroom with children as part of the St. Joseph educational project for the 150 Christian youth sheltering at the parish compound and at the nearby Greek Orthodox church compound. The project initially started in May but was suspended following Israeli bombardments of the school compound in early July 2024. (OSV News photo/courtesy Father Gabriel Romanelli)
