Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, promised Monday June 22 not to abandon the suffering Christian community of Gaza, during a visit to the Palestinian territory devastated by the war. Bishop Pizzaballa, accompanied by Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, arrived in Gaza for a rare visit aimed at supporting the small local Christian community, but also the entire Gazan population, faced with a catastrophic humanitarian situation.
“We have never abandoned you and you will never be abandoned,” declared the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem while addressing the faithful during a service in the Church of the Holy Family, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, as heard in a video published by this parish.
Monday, June 22, 2026, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III, Patriarch of the Holy City and All Countries of Palestine and Jordan, and His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, arrive in Gaza on a pastoral visit, accompanied by His Excellency Dr. Joseph D. Plautus, responsible for humanitarian work… pic.twitter.com/RZA8NMwIno
— Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (@LPJerusalem) June 22, 2026
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Of the 2.2 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, around a thousand are Christians, most of them Orthodox. The Latin Patriarchate lists some 135 Catholics in this territory. They took refuge in the compound of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza City in the first days of the war between Israel and Hamas. Some of the Orthodox joined them in these buildings of the Latin Church.
According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, this visit reflects its “pastoral responsibility” towards “the local Churches and the entire population of Gaza, where families continue to endure deep humanitarian suffering, fear, bereavement and uncertainty”.
Interreligious dialogue
During their stay, Archbishop Pizzaballa and Theophilos III are expected to meet members of the clergy, religious communities, Christian families as well as others affected by the consequences of the war, which has been the subject of a fragile ceasefire since October 2025. Archbishop Pizzaballa is also scheduled to participate on Monday in an interreligious dialogue at al-Azhar University in Gaza.
The two religious leaders are accompanied by Josef Blotz, Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, as well as representatives of Malteser International, a humanitarian NGO attached to the Order of Malta.
The Latin Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem and his Greek Orthodox counterpart visited Gaza in July 2025 the day after a deadly Israeli strike against the Church of the Holy Family. During this visit, Bishop Pizzaballa began the delivery of food aid for the inhabitants of Gaza, faced with shortages linked to Israeli restrictions.
