UN delegation makes surprise visit to Catholic parish in Gaza

People gather at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family on Palm Sunday in al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Stockholm, Sweden, Jul 2, 2025 / 18:17 pm (CNA).

A United Nations delegation made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Holy Family Parish, the only Latin-rite Catholic Church in Gaza, which hosts hundreds of people displaced by the war. 

According to Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference, representatives from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited the parish on July 1 to survey the current situation there. 

“It was their first visit here to the parish,” Argentine Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish, told SIR. “The delegation wanted to check on our conditions, greeted our displaced people, and gathered their testimonies of distress.”

Romanelli noted that the delegation members greeted displaced persons and “gathered their testimonies of distress.”

“Despite the critical situation, the U.N. representatives visited the parish facilities, toured the compound, and also dedicated time to the severely disabled children — all from Muslim families — who are lovingly cared for by the Missionaries of Charity,” Romanelli told SIR.

“We also had a prayer for peace in the church,” he said. “When they said goodbye, they thanked us for the work of solidarity and hospitality we carry out for the Christian community and the many Muslim families in need who live here in our neighborhood.”

Since the start of the war, the parish in Gaza has been aiding the local population since Israel began its war following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants. Since then, thousands of Palestinians in the enclave have been killed, wounded, or displaced.

In a separate interview with SIR, Romanelli said the international community’s silence to the humanitarian crisis Palestinians are facing was “as deadly as the weapons in Gaza.”

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was criticized after soldiers allegedly fired on unarmed refugees awaiting humanitarian relief trucks. Furthermore, a recent exposé by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that soldiers were ordered to fire on unarmed civilians, prompting an inquiry into possible war crimes. 

Nevertheless, Romanelli said those living in Gaza don’t know what to expect, as often they are told “that a truce is imminent” only to receive evacuation orders “in anticipation of military operations” the following day. 

“One day, humanitarian aid is announced; the next, Israel blocks its entry. Everyone is under severe psychological strain,” the priest said. “All we know here is that the death toll is rising. People wander from one part of the [Gaza] Strip to another, dragging behind them whatever possessions they have left.”

As the only Latin-rite Catholic parish in the enclave, Holy Family Parish received particular attention from the late Pope Francis, who called Romanelli every day. Pope Francis made his final call to the parish two days before his death on April 21.