Pope Francis called Christians in Gaza every night during the war

Members of Gaza's small Christian community have said they are “heartbroken” over the death of Pope Francis, who had called them every evening during the war, according to the Independent.

The Pope was an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and used his final appearance to call for an immediate ceasefire to the “deplorable” conflict.

That small act of compassion made a big impression on Gaza's tiny Christian community and was why he was remembered at his death on Monday as a beloved father figure in the beleaguered territory.

"I was deeply saddened. He was our biggest supporter after God," said Suheil Abu Dawoud, a 19-year-old Christian in Gaza.

Francis "always healed our wounds and asked us to be strong," he said. "He was always praying for us."

A fervent advocate of interfaith relations, Francis also urged Hamas to release the dozens of Israeli hostages it is holding and condemned growing global antisemitism.

In his Easter message, Francis expressed his "closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people."

Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, aged 88, following a serious bout of double pneumonia earlier this year.

 George Antone, 44, head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, said: "We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong. We lost a man who fought every day in every direction to protect this small herd of his.”

Francis called the church, which is the only Catholic church in the Strip, hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Antone said.

It marked the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war.

He added the Pope would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room.

"We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name – every single one of us,” Antone added.

"He used to tell each one: I am with you, don't be afraid."

The pastor of the Holy Family parish, Reverend Gabriel Romanelli, told the Vatican News Service that Francis phoned a final time on Saturday night.

Palestinian writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha mourned the Pope’s death, adding he was a “real man of peace”.

Agencies