Pope Francis made the last of his
regular phone calls to the Holy Family Catholic parish in the
Gaza Strip on Saturday, the parish priest, Father Gabriel
Romanelli, said on Tuesday.
The late pope, who died at the age of 88 on Monday, had been
calling the parish on an almost daily basis since the start of
the Israel-Hamas war sparked by the October 7 attacks and did
not stop even in the most critical days of recent spell in a
Rome hospital
"It was Holy Saturday and we were preparing for the Easter Vigil
when, at 7 p.m. our time, he telephoned us," Romanelli said.
"As always, he showed his closeness, his words of consolation,
his blessing, his prayer for peace.
"It was the last time we heard from him.
"The most beautiful message was to hear the suffering of Gaza
mentioned in the Urbi et Orbi (address on Easter Sunday),
together with the appeal to stop the war. "For the parish of
Gaza it is a very painful moment. Even the Orthodox Christians
and Muslims have come to express their condolences".
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