We are now orphans, say, the Catholics of Gaza, Dad

“AS-Salaam Alaikum” or “Peace on You”, Pope Francis dared to Arabic, talking to parishioners in Gaza earlier this year.

A brief video released by the Vatican after his death showed his intimate relationships with the tiny Christian community of the Palestinian territory, many of which he learned by name.

During the 18 months of the war, he came to call them annually to check their well -being.

“What did you eat today?” The Pope asks local priests in the video by going to Italian. “The rest of the chicken from yesterday,” says Father Gabriel Ramaneli.

Only a few hundred Christians remain more than 2 million in Gaza among the almost completely Muslim population. Many live, as well as worship, in the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza.

With the death of the Pope, they feel that they lost their dear friend.

“He called us daily during the war, on the black days under the bombing – in the days when people were killed and wounded,” said Father Ramanely.

“Sometimes we didn’t have the phones for hours, and the Pope tried to get to us with all his duties.”

George Anton, a local Catholic, is an emergency coordinator in the Holy Family Church. He told me that the shock left him with virtually no speech when he first talked to the Pope, but as a result he regularly talked to him on video calls.

He explained the Pontiff as he lost his house and relatives.

“He blessed me all the time, and he fully understood our situation, and he always urged us to be strong,” Mr. Anton said. “And he asked,” What can I do for you? ” What else can I do for you “?”

Gazana’s Christians say they will now miss a great source of comfort and support.

“We felt” Oh, God, we are now similar to orphans, “Mr. Anton said.

“There will be no calls from the Pope, we will not hear this voice. We will not hear his sense of humor. You know that Pope Francis has a special connection with gas and with each of us.”

Pope Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014. The defined image of his trip appeared at a looped stop in Bethlehem when he prayed for the peace near the graphite wall, which is part of the West Bank barrier of Israel.

On Sunday, in his Easter message, his last public appearance, he again called for peace and ceasefire.

With his word, read the assistant, he said: “The terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction, as well as to create a dramatic and mourning humanitarian situation.”

“War is not just a weapon. Sometimes war is words,” said the Latin Patriarch Jerusalem, Cardinal Pyerbatist Pitsabal when I asked him about the last address of the Pope. He said he had moral clarity.

“Pope Francis recently, especially last year, was very open about the situation of the Holy Land, calling for the release of hostages, but also condemning the dramatic situation, the war in gas and the situation for the Palestinians continues,” the cardinal said.

Israeli media notes that while President Isaac Duke expressed condolences to the Catholic world, there were no similar comments from the Prime Minister or Foreign Minister, as could be widely attributed to the strong position of the Pope against the war in Gaza.

Some of his most obvious criticism of Israel came at the end of last year when excerpts of the future book were published.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide,” Pope Francis writes.

“It must be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by lawyers and international bodies.”

Israel firmly dismisses the allegations of Genocide and says its military goal is to defeat Hamas.

This week in Rome there is a conclave to resolve the successor of Pope Francis, Palestinians and Israelis will keep a close eye on what the next Pope can say about their unsolved conflict.

Christians say that they hope that the one who is elected will push for peace.