CV NEWS FEED // A former priest at Gaza’s parish of the Holy Family has shared his testimony after he was able to return to the region with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa during the Cardinal’s May 15-19 pastoral visit.
Fr. Gabriel Rimanelli, a priest of the Incarnate Word, had been stationed in Gaza, but he was in Bethlehem when the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, 2023. The war prevented him from returning.
In his testimony, shared with AsiaNews, Fr. Rimanelli described the more than 500 people living in the compound of Holy Family parish as “serene,” despite the certain presence of extreme exhaustion and depression.
There are few places in the city that have not been touched by bombs, Fr. Rimanelli said.
And yet, he wrote: “it is equally true that many want to start life again, to rebuild, others are thinking of starting a life outside, albeit with great pain. All of them loved, and love, their land.”
Fr. Rimanelli notes that the population of Christians living in Gaza consists both of people “who have always lived in the strip and are attached to it,” and of refugees of past wars from Jerusalem, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Migdalia, and Ashkelon.
“Many Christians are originally from Gaza and feel they belong to this land,” he explained. “That is why for some of them there is great pain at the thought of living, while others want to stay.”
Fr. Rimanelli will remain in the parish, with his Congregation’s provincial, Fr. Carlos Ferrero, and two religious sisters who also came during the visit.
One of the sisters, a newcomer to the parish, is Sr. Maria “Maravillas” de Jesus, an Argentinean nun who “will remain (in Gaza) as a testimony to a living reality that continues with its activities,” Fr. Rimanelli said.
The Priest also stated that the parish would be working to start hosting more activities for local children and providing additional resources to young families in the compound.
“All this is a sign of hope,” he concluded: “even the people were very happy to see us again and to know that I am back and that I am staying here, with God’s help.”
