Despite being hospitalised Pope Francis has stayed in regular touch with Catholics in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
Pope Francis who has been in the hospital for more than a week is battling with a respiratory tract infection. At 8.pm every night he usually holds a video call with his Faithfuls in Gaza and some other times sends text messages.
The pope has maintained near-daily contact with this church throughout the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023.
In an interview with Vatican News, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family, the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza, says Pope Francis asks how he and his Palestinian parishioners are and sends them his blessing.
“Although we had a blackout in the whole area of Gaza City, he insisted and managed to contact us with a video call,” he said, according to the Vatican media outlet.
The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and has been in the hospital for several days.
Romanelli, who, like the pope, is from Argentina, told Vatican News that Pope Francis has sounded “more tired” than usual.
“He himself said, ‘I have to take care of myself.’ But you could hear the clear voice, he listened to us well.”
