Father Gabriel Romanelli leads Eucharistic adoration at Holy Family Parish in Gaza in December 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 25, 2025 / 15:48 pm (CNA).
“Everyone here is pleading for mercy: to take pity, for mercy, for compassion, for them to stop this war, for them to stop shooting… for them to stop killing people, for them to stop bombing,” the only parish priest in Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli, said in a video he posted Sept. 23.
“There are stories that are terrible, there are stories that are truly terrible. People are deeply distressed and implore God to take pity, to have mercy on everyone, and they also implore taking pity on everyone, so that for the love of God this war may end,” the priest continued.
In a video that begins with the reaction of the faithful, including a child who seems frightened by a nearby explosion, the priest lamented that in Gaza “the bombing continues, it’s very heavy and ongoing, it sounds very loud, shrapnel and sounds come, even though some are 200, 300 meters away, 500 meters, 700 meters away, it sounds very loud, not to even imagine what it’s like for the people who are next to them or are in those places. Every day there are deaths and more deaths.”
The priest from the Institute of the Incarnate Word, who first came to Gaza in 2005, said he sometimes no longer knows what to say to those who have lost their loved ones: “I am speechless; we are speechless, people feel worn out. There’s no real progress.”
Romanelli also criticized the fact that, so far, “there has been no real progress” toward peace, nor has there been any “reversal of the bad decisions made,” and that there is no permission to “rebuild people’s homes where they, their ancestors, were born, where they have the right to be.”
After expressing his gratitude for the constant calls for peace from Pope Leo XIV and the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Argentine priest said that in the face of “so much evil, so little compassion, we must cling more to God to try to be better, even in the little things, praying for everyone, for the living and the dead: Jews, Muslims, Russians, those without religion, because all have been created by God” and all “are called to participate in the fullness of the life of the Most Holy Trinity.”
The priest encouraged people to ask “Our Lady, Our Lady of Sorrows, to comfort so many people: there are people under the rubble, there are people who are injured under the rubble, there are people who are not injured but cannot get out, others who are in areas where anyone who goes out on the street is a dead person. According to Civil Defense data, there are many dead … It’s all very sad.”
After mentioning that many remain in the parish because it serves as a shelter and recounting that they had just gone out yesterday to get some fresh air and had to rush back to the church because a bomb had fallen nearby, the priest concluded his message by encouraging people to “do good to everyone, and may God in his mercy take pity on everyone and grant us an end to this war.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Harare, Zimbabwe, Dec 31, 2019 / 03:12 pm (CNA).- As severe drought conditions continue in Zimbabwe, close to 7 million people are facing food shortages, a Catholic aid agency warned this week.
“Families have run out of options to put food on th… […]
The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).
On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. In this “Upper Room,” called the Cenacle in the Holy Land, Jesus had his Last Supper, washed his apostles’ feet, and instituted the Eucharist.
It was here that the Franciscans celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, reenacting those same gestures. (At the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, however, the celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. Here is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s homily from that Mass.)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, kisses the feet of a Franciscan friar during the “Washing of the Feet” ritual at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday. The celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. March 28, 2024. Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, presided over the Eucharistic celebration at the Cenacle. In his homily, before washing the feet of six teachers and six students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem, he emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).
“To love means to give oneself and to serve,” he said. “In this celebration, we want to nourish ourselves with Jesus because if he is alive within us, then we too will become capable of loving one another as he loved us. And we also want to learn from Jesus not to be served but to serve.”
Some students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem who took part in the “Washing of the Feet” ritual during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Addressing them specifically in his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Credit: Marinella Bandini
Holy Thursday is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, when the Franciscans have the right to gather in the Upper Room to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Outside, Israeli Army personnel ensure security.
The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here, and over the centuries, Jews and Muslims have leveraged this place to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deem sacrilegious.
Father Narciso Klimas, historian and archivist of the Custody of the Holy Land, explained to CNA: “The Custody has all the documents confirming our ownership of Mount Zion.” Even today, traces of Christian presence are visible, both in the architecture of the place and in some symbols.
“The presence of the Franciscans at the Cenacle,” Klimas explained, “dates back to 1342, but as early as 1333, the rulers of Naples, Robert of Anjou and Sancha of Majorca, acquired the land and donated it to the friars. This was the first headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land.” To this day, the official title of the Custos of the Holy Land is “Guardian of Mount Zion and the Holy Sepulchre.”
Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, incenses the altar at the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated inside the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. This is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, that the Franciscans have the right to gather here to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In 1421, a rabbi submitted a petition to the local emirs, claiming the right for Muslims and Jews to this place due to the presence of King David’s tomb. One hundred years later, Klimas continued, “the Ottomans used this argument to gradually expel the Franciscans, until in 1551 the sultan decreed the total expulsion of the Franciscans from Mount Zion.” The Cenacle first became a mosque and later, in the lower part, also a synagogue.
“Since then,” Klimas recounted, “the Franciscans have never stopped attempting to regain possession of the Cenacle. The friars have always tried to ensure a presence, at least on Holy Thursday and Pentecost, sometimes even with methods that are not exactly orthodox (such as bribing the local guardian).”
Something began to change in the 19th century, during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid. Since then, the Franciscans have had the right to pray at the Cenacle on Holy Thursday and Pentecost. After a failed attempt in the 1930s to regain control of it, the friars managed to purchase adjacent land where they built the convent of San Francesco “ad Coenaculum” (next to the Cenacle).
In 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel, the entire Mount Zion came under Israeli control, and until today, the Israeli state owns the entire complex of the Cenacle. The neighborhood has a strong Jewish religious character and is characterized by the presence of synagogues and rabbinical schools.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle. Here, the friars commemorate the hospitality they received here in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. March 28, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“Even if the Cenacle cannot return to our hands,” Klimas explained, “we ask at least to celebrate regularly, even with pilgrims, without the need for special permits.”
Negotiations on these matters (taxation and property) have been ongoing for over 25 years between the Holy See and the State of Israel, following the signing of the Fundamental Agreement in 1993 and the agreement recognizing the legal personality of the Catholic Church in Israel in 1997.
Despite the slow pace of diplomatic negotiations, some practical progress can be observed informally. The ability to celebrate Mass on Holy Thursday at the Cenacle is among these developments. Permissions to access the site on other special occasions are usually granted without significant issues as well.
After the Mass at the Cenacle, as tradition dictates, the Franciscans proceeded in a procession to three churches in two other symbolic places: the Armenian churches of St. James and of the Holy Archangels (of the Armenian Apostolic Church), and the Syro-Orthodox Church of St. Mark.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Church of the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. Friars and faithful pray together and receive the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Credit: Marinella Bandini
This yearly visit commemorates the hospitality the friars received in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. Friars and faithful prayed together and received the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Mark is said to be built on the house of Mary, the mother of the evangelist Mark. According to Syriac tradition, this is the place where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present prayed together and were able to listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gave a blessing.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Syro-Orthodox church of St. Mark in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. According to Syriac tradition, this is the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present pray together and listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gives the blessing. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A Fulani herdsman in Cameroon. / Philippe Semanaz via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Sokoto, Nigeria, Dec 2, 2021 / 17:01 pm (CNA).
Christians in Nigeria’s Zamfara State have been cautioned against public worship in churches lest they be attacked, abdu… […]
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Have they freed all the hostages? Who started it? Who is really responsible for its continuation?
Have they freed all the hostages? Who started it? Who is really responsible for its continuation?