Priest says Pope's calls to parish in Gaza were 'beautiful'
A priest has described Pope Francis' daily phone calls to his small parish in Gaza as "something very beautiful".
In the 18 months prior to his illness, the Pope called the Holy Family Church every night, including just two days before his death.
At 8pm local time, the papal calls would happen over WhatsApp video through the phone of Fr Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of the Church, in what Gazan residents referred to as "Pope O'Clock".
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Fr Carlos Ferrero said he could not say the exact date that the Pope's calls to his parish started.
"I came to the parish in May 2024 when the Patriarch managed to get permission to do a Pastoral Visit here; Fr Romanelli and myself, we entered (Gaza) to remain here," he said.
"The Pope had already been calling sometimes to talk to Fr Romanelli, he even talked to him when we were in Jerusalem and called me once when I was in Jerusalem waiting to enter.
"Once we were here, the calls began to be more and more frequent until they became a daily call."
Fr Ferrero said the Pope would ask about how the congregation was getting on, and how the wider population were too.
"Even if the words were few, it was enough for everybody to be consoled and supported."
"He was very concerned, and encouraging us to be strong, to be patient, to continue praying, to support the people, and always showing his closeness to us all, and also very happy when we managed to help the population all around us."
He described the Pope's support as "very, very important" to the Gazan Church.
"Imagine for us, the head of the Church calling us every day, that's something amazing, and for all the parishioners, all the Christians who are refugees here, everybody appreciated it," said Fr Ferrero.
"They were hoping and waiting for that call, because you feel you are being heard, you feel you are somebody important; somebody considers you, you're not just a number,"
"Even if the words were few, it was enough for everybody to be consoled and supported."
Fr Ferrero said that people would gather around the phone to speak with him, to show their faces, and even sang him 'Happy Birthday'.
"We already miss him, but at the same time, we were all supported by his words."
The Church's last call with Pope Francis was on Easter Saturday, minutes before the beginning of the liturgy.
"That was also providential because imagine if he was to call a little later, maybe we would have not answered; but thanks to God, Fr Romanelli was at the entrance of the Church and got the call."
He said that their last call was short and that the Pope's voice was weak, but he had asked how they were, told them to keep strong, wait for peace, and that they would pray for one another.
Upon hearing the news of Pope Francis' passing, Fr Ferrero said that the congregation held a special funeral in his honour.
"We already miss him, but at the same time, we were all supported by his words," he said.
"The celebration of Easter gives us the strength also to hope; something that he always encouraged everybody was to keep the hope up and wait for the grace of God."
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