The small Christian community of Gaza will gather again tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, to pray for the end of the war after a new Israeli attack that left five civilians dead, including two Christian women. The day will culminate with Holy Mass and a symbolic procession to ask for “justice and peace between Palestine and Israel.”
This was announced by Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family in Gaza, who spoke to Vatican News about the situation of the community after the attack that struck a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood, in the western part of the city, during the early hours of Saturday, October 3.
Among the deceased were Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud and her daughter Mary Hafez Michel Najjar, both Greek Orthodox and members of the local Christian community.
The attack has once again struck a Christian presence that has suffered numerous losses since the beginning of the war. According to data provided by Romanelli, 62 Christians have died during the conflict, 25 of them as a result of the bombings.
Leo XIV to Romanelli: “How long, O Lord?”
After learning of the deaths of Maysa and Mary, Leo XIV personally wrote to the parish priest of the Holy Family via WhatsApp.
“Since I learned the painful news of the deaths of Maysa and Mary, I have been praying to God for them, for their families, and for the entire community of Gaza. How long, O Lord? Thank you for accompanying the parish and so many people who wish to live in peace,” the Pontiff wrote.
Romanelli especially appreciated that the Pope remembered the two women by name and prayed for their families.
“We were moved, as always, by the Holy Father’s closeness and also by his pastoral sensitivity in praying for them, for the victims, in naming them, in praying for the families and for the entire community,” the Argentine priest explained.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, also expressed his condolences for the victims. Maysa and Mary were laid to rest the same Saturday at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza.
For Romanelli, the new attack has revived in the community “the worst moments of the war,” even though the massive bombings ceased after the ceasefire reached a year ago. “People are exhausted,” he acknowledged.
Tomorrow, October 7, at the feet of Our Lady of the Rosary
In this context, the Christians of Gaza will face tomorrow, Wednesday, the third anniversary of the attacks of October 7, 2023. The date coincides with the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
“We hope that this terrible memory will, on the contrary, be a new beginning for us,” Romanelli said.
The community will dedicate the day to praying the Rosary and will conclude with Holy Mass and a symbolic procession. The intention will be to ask for “the end of this war, justice and peace between Palestine and Israel.”
Faced with the violence and exhaustion accumulated over three years, the response of the small Christian community will thus be the same it has maintained throughout the conflict: to remain in Gaza and continue gathering to pray.
“We will not stop”
Romanelli insists that the Holy Family parish will maintain both its spiritual life and its work with those who continue to suffer the consequences of the war.
“We will not stop,” the priest assured. “If we, as a parish, as a spiritual and human oasis for those who suffer, stop and do not contribute to peace and justice, then it is truly over.”
For this reason, they will continue “with prayer, with spiritual activity,” but also with apostolate and assistance to those who remain in precarious conditions.
The humanitarian situation continues to be serious. According to Romanelli, although the massive bombings ceased in October 2025, the aid reaching the Strip remains insufficient. Added to this is now the concern over the arrival of winter and the families surviving under tarpaulins and makeshift shelters.
However, the parish priest emphasizes that the population’s needs go beyond material aid. “They need freedom, peace, for the bombs to stop falling, for them to be able to see a horizon.”
Tomorrow, after once again burying members of their community and in a Gaza still marked by the consequences of the war, the Christians will gather again to celebrate Mass and take up the Rosary. They will do so on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary with a specific request: that the war end and peace come.