Members of Gaza’s small Christian community have said they are “heartbroken” over the death of Pope Francis, who had called them every evening during the war.
The pope was an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and used his final appearance to call for an immediate ceasefire to the “deplorable” conflict.
Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, aged 88, following a serious bout of double pneumonia earlier this year.
George Antone, 44, head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, said: “We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong. We lost a man who fought every day in every direction to protect this small herd of his.”
Francis called the church, which is the only Catholic church in the strip, hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Mr Antone said. It marked the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war.
He added the pope would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room.
“We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name – every single one of us,” Mr Antone added.
“He used to tell each one: I am with you, don’t be afraid.”
The pastor of the Holy Family parish, Reverend Gabriel Romanelli, told the Vatican News Service that Francis phoned a final time on Saturday night.
Palestinian writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha mourned the pope’s death, adding he was a “real man of peace”.
The Pope’s final Easter message
The pope did not preside over the Vatican’s Easter Mass but appeared at the end of the event for a twice-yearly blessing and message known as the “Urbi et Orbi” – to the city and the world.
In the final message before his death, the pontiff reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza during a brief appearance on the main balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, adding the situation in Gaza was “dramatic and deplorable”.
The pope also called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to release its remaining hostages and condemned what he said was a “worrisome” trend of antisemitism in the world.
“I express my closeness to the sufferings … of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” said the message read aloud by an aide.
“I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace,” it read.
The pontiff’s previous criticism of the war
Pope Francis was usually careful about taking sides in conflicts during his 12 years at the head of the Catholic Church. However, he campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave since the war began in October 2023.
Before a five-week hospital stay for pneumonia earlier this year, Francis had been ramping up criticism of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
In a speech to diplomats in January, the pontiff called the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave “very serious and shameful”.
“We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians,” he said. “We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country’s energy network has been hit.”
In December, Francis suggested the global community should study whether Israel’s offensive constitutes genocide of the Palestinian people. An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff for that suggestion.
How leaders in the region reacted to his death
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas mourned the pope as a loyal friend of the Palestinian people and a global advocate for peace and justice.
Mr Abbas highlighted in his mourning the Pope’s recognition of Palestine, his visit to Bethlehem, his prayers for peace at the separation wall, and his calls to end the war in Gaza.
“Today, we lost a faithful friend of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights,” he said.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog said that Francis was a man of deep faith, peace and compassion who fostered ties with the Jewish world.
“I truly hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages (in Gaza) will soon be answered,” Herzog said on X, formerly Twitter.
At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, on the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, the superior of the Latin community, Father Stephane Milovitch, said Francis had stood for peace.
“We wish that peace will finally come very soon in this land and we wish the next pope will be able to help to have peace in Jerusalem and in all the world,” he said.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities.
