“The purpose of my visit first of all was to be with them, to embrace them,” Pizzaballa said in a video message published on Thursday by the patriarchate.
He added that the visit was made in order to “to verify their conditions” and “to see what we can do to improve their conditions.”
During his visit, the cardinal celebrated Mass and paid a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City, where 18 Palestinians lost their lives in an Oct. 18, 2023, Israeli missile strike.
“The visit is also the first stage of a joint humanitarian mission of the Latin Patriarchate and the Sovereign Order of Malta, in collaboration with Malteser International and other partners, aiming at the delivery of lifesaving food and medical help to the population in Gaza,” the patriarchate said.
A statement issued by the Order of Malta on Thursday noted that “a memorandum of understanding establishing the joint mission was signed between the parties on May 14.”
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October, Holy Family Parish — the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip — has played a crucial role in providing spiritual and humanitarian support to the local war-torn population.
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