Credit: Daniel Ibáñez
CV NEWS FEED // Just ahead of traveling to the Vatican this week for the late Holy Father Pope Francis’ funeral and the conclave, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem told his flock that this is a crucial moment to be united in prayer.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa greeted the Church of Jerusalem and asked for prayers especially in light of a responsibility that belongs to him and more than 100 other cardinals: participating in the election of the next pope.
“It is a moment in which we must be united in prayer, first of all for me, because it is a moment in which I have a great and important responsibility,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said in a video message. “And we must all pray for the Church, because we are part of a great body which is the universal Church: the Catholic Church. I am sure that your prayers, all together, will lead to the right choices for the good of the universal Church.”
He thanked the diocese for their prayer and gave a brief farewell blessing.
“See you soon,” he concluded.
The video message was filmed in the same location that a number of local faithful also had sung to their patriarch just before he departed for the Vatican.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war nearly two years ago, Cardinal Pizzaballa has shepherded his flock amid the suffering, especially by calling often for peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness. The cardinal also made headlines shortly after the start of the war when he offered himself in exchange for the Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas. In the following months, he has continued to preach on the importance of placing one’s hope in Christ and finding courage in the resurrection, as he said in his Palm Sunday message.
He has also remained close to the Catholic parish in Gaza, Holy Family Parish. In December 2024, he visited the parish in person despite initial difficulties gaining passage to Gaza from Israeli officials, as CatholicVote previously reported.
The late Holy Father Pope Francis often spoke out against violence and regularly made personal calls to the parish in Gaza, even up to just days before his death.
Before departing for the Holy Father’s funeral this week, Cardinal Pizzaballa told local journalists that “Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate,” according to France 24.
For a certain period of time, the pontiff called the parish every single day at 7 p.m., the cardinal said.
Cardinal Pizzaballa reflected that Pope Francis’ approach to advocacy on behalf of those suffering is an important example, according to France 24.
The pope’s actions focused on justice “but without becoming part of the conflict,” he said.
“For us, for the Church,” the cardinal said, “it leaves an important legacy.”
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