Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Latin Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, spoke to AsiaNews by phone about Pope Leo XIV’s homily at the inaugural Mass of his pontificate as well as the words he pronounced at the Regina Caeli.

“We feel a very strong bond with the pope, first with Francis and now with Leo XIV, because through them we feel the closeness and solidarity of all people. We are comforted by the appeals the pontiff has made on the first day in St Peter's, which he has reiterated several times.”

For the Argentine priest, a member of the Verbite order, the Pope’s “appeal for peace comes with great emphasis on the situation of severe famine throughout the Gaza Strip" where its two million people are in “extreme need”.

The clergyman stresses the importance of the bond with the Pope and his prayers, both in the daily evening phone calls with Pope Francis before and through the messages and words of the newly elected Leo XIV.

“Gaza Christians are very religious and know that the prayers of the Holy Father are protection before God; without this element, it is not possible to understand what we experience now and what we have experienced before.

"In addition, people understand that the Pope, in addition to being the Vicar of Christ on Earth, is also a prominent world leader. He meets the powerful of the earth and does not hesitate to talk about peace, issue appeals for the end of the war, the release of hostages, and the delivery of aid.

“All this, “ Fr. Romanelli notes, “is an element of comfort, because no world leader speaks of peace like him, so much so that he has offered the Vatican as a place for meeting and mediation between different people, between enemies.”

Although his parish has not received aid for three months, "the Latin Patriarchate has always been close to us, and the Church, as soon as it can, is set to support tens of thousands of families, as it has always done, with real help. Precisely for this reason, we hope that they will let in basic necessities.”