The Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem began a visit to the small Christian community in Gaza on Monday as daily Israeli attacks continue across the Palestinian territory despite a US-backed ceasefire deal that was signed last year.
In a joint statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Patriarch Theophilos III said the purpose of the visit was to express the “pastoral responsibility of the Churches of Jerusalem toward the local churches and toward the whole population of Gaza, where families continue to endure grave humanitarian suffering, fear, loss, and uncertainty.”
The statement said that the church leaders will meet with “clergy, religious communities, local Christian families, and people affected by the continuing humanitarian crisis.”
Pizzaballa and Theophilis visited the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City and the nearby Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church, which have served as shelters for Christian and Muslim Palestinians throughout Israel’s genocidal war.
During Mass at the Holy Family Church on Monday, Pizzaballa told the parishioners: “We never abandoned you, and you’ll never be abandoned.”
Photos from the Holy Family Church’s Facebook page show the patriarchs attending the opening of the Latin Patriarchate Kindergarten of Gaza and a medical clinic named after St. Joseph. Pizzaballa also visited the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, which had been targeted multiple times by the Israeli military.
Both Christian churches in Gaza have also been hit by multiple Israeli attacks, including the July 2025 tank shelling of the Holy Family Church, which killed three Christians and wounded the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Pizzaballa and Theophilis visited the church in the aftermath of the attack.
