The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem concluded a three-day pastoral visit yesterday and vowed to rebuild.
“We will rebuild—our schools, our houses, and our life,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, said at Gaza’s sole Catholic parish on the first day of his visit.
Later during the visit, he celebrated Mass and preached:
We are in a very difficult situation, like many others throughout Gaza. But now we are in a new phase. We are called not only to survive, but to rebuild life. We must bring the spirit of Christmas—the spirit of light, tenderness, and love. It may seem impossible, but after two years of terrible war, we are still here.