From his hospital bed, Pope Francis stays in touch with Catholic parishioners in Gaza

ROME, Italy — Pope Francis remains in the hospital this week, with a respiratory tract infection that doctors are describing as a “complex clinical situation.” Despite this, the pontiff has kept in touch from his hospital bed with a parish in the Gaza Strip. Sometimes he reaches them by video call, according to the Vatican, and sometimes by text message.

In an interview with Vatican News, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family, the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza, says Pope Francis has called from the hospital at 8 p.m. Gaza time every night. The pope has maintained near-daily contact with this church throughout the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023.

Romanelli says that in these calls, Pope Francis asks how he and his Palestinian parishioners are and sends them his blessing.

“Although we had a blackout in the whole area of Gaza City, he insisted and managed to contact us with a video call,” he said, according to the Vatican media outlet.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and has been in the hospital for several days.

Romanelli, who, like the pope, is from Argentina, told Vatican News that Pope Francis has sounded “more tired” than usual.

“He himself said, ‘I have to take care of myself.’ But you could hear the clear voice, he listened to us well.”