Holy Land bids farewell to Pope Francis who cared for the region until death

Late pontiff was a strong supporter of Gaza throughout the war

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City during Wednesday's Mass held for the late Pope Francis. EPA

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In his last address, which took place on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis said "the terrible [Gaza] conflict continues to cause death and destruction, and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation".

For Issa Anis Kassissieh, the pontiff's words were another reminder of why so many Palestinians and their supporters worldwide respected him. Even on the brink of death, he used his platform to highlight the suffering of Gazans and to plead for it to end.

"He always talked about peace in Jerusalem, peace in the Holy Land, about stopping the war and all the children who have died in the war," Mr Kassissieh said.

He was at a funerary mass for the pontiff on Wednesday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, during which Palestinian Catholics, alongside clergy from around the world, diplomats and a handful of foreign visitors, paid their last respects.

A worshipper holds a candle affixed with an image of Pope Francis at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Reuters

Over Easter the church was packed for the first time since the Gaza war broke out in October 7, 2023. In a sign that the situation is still far from normal, mere days after Easter ended the church was as empty as it has been in recent months but on Wednesday it attracted some more people for the special mass.

During the ceremony, Fr Francesco Patton praised the late Pope's "closeness to ordinary people and humanity".

"All of us who live in the Holy Land feel a profound debt of gratitude to Pope Francis. He cared for us until the end, welcomed us into his heart until his last day and prayed for our peace until his last breath," Fr Patton said, standing next to a photograph of the pontiff.

The mass was presided over by Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a much-respected church leader in the Holy Land during a time when many others are distrusted by their communities.

Later on Wednesday, Patriarch Pizzaballa headed to Rome to participate in the process of electing the next pope. He is among the favourites, praised for his diplomatic ability in the politically fraught region and for his direct support to Palestinians in Gaza, although at 60 he is considered young for a Pope.

Gaza and the plight of Palestinians have loomed large in the Catholic Church’s work in the Holy Land since October 7, but its leaders in the region have also been keen to stress that the church’s mission must include Israelis.

In a briefing the day before, Patriarch Pizzaballa, who speaks fluent Hebrew and who has been working in the Holy Land for decades, recounted an interaction between himself and Pope Francis in 2014, in the Garden of Gethsemane.

From left, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Francis and Israel's president at the time, Shimon Peres, during prayers at the Vatican in 2014. AP

"We were accompanying the Pope to the garden, when he brought me to the sacristy and said he needed to talk with me,” Patriarch Pizzaballa recounted. "He told me I had to prepare a meeting of prayer with [then Israeli President Shimon] Peres and [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] in the Vatican.

"'Yes, let me think, maybe in a few months,' I said. Francis said 'no, you have 10 days'. I said: 'Your holiness, this is almost impossible.' He said I would manage. He left, we went to Gethsemane to pray. You can imagine how hard we prayed," he added.

"This was his personality. If he had something in his heart, he would express it. Sometimes the heart is more powerful than the mind and reason."