From his hospital mattress, Pope Francis stays in contact with Catholic parishioners in Gaza

ROME, Italy — Pope Francis stays within the hospital this week, with a respiratory tract an infection that docs are describing as a “complex clinical situation.” Regardless of this, the pontiff has stored in contact from his hospital mattress with a parish within the Gaza Strip. Generally he reaches them by video name, in response to the Vatican, and generally by textual content message.

In an interview with Vatican Information, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Household, the one Roman Catholic church in Gaza, says Pope Francis has referred to as from the hospital at 8 p.m. Gaza time each night time. The pope has maintained near-daily contact with this church all through the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which started 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 mentioned, in response to the Vatican media outlet.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been affected by a respiratory an infection for greater than per week and has been within the hospital for a number of days.

Romanelli, who, just like the pope, is from Argentina, informed Vatican Information that Pope Francis has sounded “more tired” than standard.

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