Palestinian Christians in Gaza remember Pope Francis and his daily calls to the Catholic church in Gaza. “Gaza was among his last words,” one member of the parish told Mondoweiss. “His voice made us forget the sound of the planes and the bombs.”

Christians around the world are mourning the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21. But in the Gaza Strip, the local Christian community is not just mourning the loss of a religious leader, but the loss of a friend – someone they called “a true father.”

Universally hailed as a champion of the oppressed and the marginalized, the late Pope demonstrated his commitment to this reputation during the past 18 months of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. It has been widely reported that he made regular and near-daily calls to the Holy Family Church in Gaza and that he roundly condemned Israel’s actions, describing them as “terrorism” with “the characteristics of a genocide.”

“The death of Pope Francis is a great loss to the world and an even greater loss for those who did not see the world through his eyes — the eyes of justice and truth,” says George Anton, head of the emergency committee of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, where Palestinian Christians in Gaza have sought refuge since the start of the war. “He always championed the oppressed and always stood up for what was right, no matter what. This was reflected in his stance with us during the war.”

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