As violence continues to claim innocent lives in the Holy Land, Pope Leo XIV has renewed an urgent appeal for prayer, asking Catholics around the world to turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary and pray for an end to war.
The Holy Father’s appeal came as Gaza’s Christian community mourned five people killed in an Israeli airstrike, including two Greek Orthodox women, according to Vatican News.
Following the Angelus, Pope Leo encouraged the faithful to join children around the world in praying the Rosary for peace through the “One Million Children Praying the Holy Rosary” initiative organized by Aid to the Church in Need.
“I wholeheartedly thank all the boys and girls who are joining in this prayer in so many parts of the world,” Pope Leo said, according to Vatican News. “Let us all follow their example, invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that peoples may be freed from the scourge of war. In particular, let us pray for the Holy Land and for the innocent victims of violence.”
His words carried particular weight as news emerged of another deadly strike in Gaza City.
According to Vatican News, an Israeli airstrike struck a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City during the early hours of October 3. Five civilians were killed and numerous others were wounded.
Among those who died were Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud and her daughter, Mary Hafez Michel Najjar, two Greek Orthodox women who had recently found another place of refuge and were attempting to rebuild their lives.
After learning of their deaths, Pope Leo sent a personal message to Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza.
“Since learning the painful news of the deaths of Maysa and Mary, I have been praying to God for them, for their families and for the entire community of Gaza. How long, O Lord?” the Pope wrote, according to Vatican News.
The Holy Father also thanked Fr. Romanelli for continuing to accompany people enduring the conflict.
“Thank you for accompanying the parish and so many people who wish to live in peace,” Pope Leo said. “Blessings and an affectionate embrace.”
According to Vatican News, the Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas command center or leader. Medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital reported that people wounded in the attack were in serious condition.
The funeral for Maysa and Mary was held at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City, where Metropolitan Alexios, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchal Vicar, prayed for their eternal rest.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, also expressed his condolences and warned that Israelis and Palestinians continue to carry the wounds of the conflict.
“We have not yet moved beyond that day. Both peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, remain caught in this profound, unresolved trauma,” Cardinal Pizzaballa told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, according to Vatican News. “I see no emerging willingness to say, ‘Let us stop.’”
The Cardinal said that even as the intensity of fighting has diminished, conditions for ordinary people have not necessarily improved.
“Reconstruction has not begun, living conditions have not improved; indeed, in some respects, they have even worsened,” he said.
With winter approaching, the situation is especially concerning for families living in temporary shelters and tents.
“The rains will be an enormous problem for all those living in tents,” Cardinal Pizzaballa warned.
Yet amid suffering, Gaza’s Christian community has also taken a small but significant step toward rebuilding ordinary life.
According to Vatican News, the parish school in Gaza has reopened, something Cardinal Pizzaballa described as an important sign of perseverance and hope.
“Reopening was an important sign to give. A sign that, despite all the difficulties, we want to begin again: we are not giving up,” he said. “There was great joy that day; everyone was crying.”
The suffering in Gaza gives particular urgency to Pope Leo’s call for Catholics to pray the Rosary for peace.
The Aid to the Church in Need initiative began at the start of October and continues through October 7, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Dioceses, parishes, schools, communities and families around the world are being encouraged to participate.
For Catholics, the Pope’s appeal is more than a request to observe events in the Holy Land from afar. It is an invitation to respond spiritually to the suffering of innocent people and to entrust those living amid war to the intercession of the Mother of God.
As children around the world take up their Rosaries, Pope Leo is asking the entire Church to join them.
“Let us all follow their example,” the Pope said, “invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that peoples may be freed from the scourge of war.”
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