Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa (center), the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, celebrates Christmas Mass at the Holy Family Parish during his visit to Gaza, December 21, 2025. OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP
An expanse of tents now covers the land, appearing nearly as vast as the distant Mediterranean Sea. In this devastated, leveled part of Gaza, near what was once the port, a city of canvas and tarpaulins has replaced the former high-rises. The scene was broadcast on December 11 on the YouTube channel of Father Gabriel Romanelli, who has been the parish priest of Gaza since 2019. This Argentine-born priest posts near-daily updates on social media in Spanish. On that day, he said, "The war is not over. There are no massive bombings, but there are bombings. There are explosions, there is shrapnel. Houses continue to be destroyed." He described flooding caused by Storm Byron, which has further exhausted an already worn-out population: "People continue to die, and it is a silent death, from despair, lack of medicine, lack of care." More than two years into the war, Israel still bars international press from entering the enclave.
On Friday, December 19, the priest's austere face brightened somewhat and his voice grew more cheerful: "Great joy today, amid so much suffering. We are celebrating Christmas early. Today Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa has come to visit." The patriarch celebrated Christmas Mass on Sunday in Gaza, as he had done in 2024. Children reenacted the Nativity scene, with a baby born this year and baptized by the prelate for the occasion.
