A Catholic-run school that was among thousands of educational institutions shut in Gaza during the war will soon reopen, a senior priest has said.
At the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, a small band of nuns, volunteer teachers and parents have ensured that about 150 children and teenagers continued to study and take exams through the two years of bombardment and shelling.
However, three schools on the church premises in northern Gaza that once taught more than 1,800 children have been shut since the war began in October 2023. The classrooms were turned into makeshift housing for hundreds of people.
The Holy Family Church has given refuge to a small Christian community since the war began and continues to shelter about 450 Christians who refused to move south despite repeated Israeli orders to leave.
“We are trying to open the local school. We have informally managed to keep teaching to help children over these past two years,” Father Carlos Ferrero, a priest at the church, told The National.
“We have tried to help so the teaching, classes and exams are recognised and the children don’t lose their school years. If the [peace] situation continues we want to open the school next week.”
The church, surrounding buildings and a nearby Greek Orthodox Church have been hit several times by Israeli shelling, resulting in deaths and injuries.
Students complete exams
Over the past two days, the cheers of teenagers who completed high school exams could be heard across the church compound. Photos and video shared by the church show relatives and well-wishers applauding, shouting congratulations and cheering a group of pupils who completed their exams online.
“Students have been sitting for their high school final examinations and they have just finished,” Fr Ferrero said. “They took the exams online on Tuesday and Wednesday. We managed to get them an internet connection.”
The classrooms for different age groups are spread between a church building, a nuns' residence and small prefabricated buildings.
Parishioners said they were grateful for a space to shield their children from the war for a few hours every day.
“I cry when I think of my children learning something, anything, when we were under attack,” said Yousuf, a father of three. “I cry because I’m happy they learn. The teachers and sisters teach the children maths, numbers, make sure they read. It helps them forget the bombing.”
Nearly 660,000 children remain out of school, according to the UN agency for Palestine refugees. More than 90 per cent of Gaza’s schools have been severely damaged or destroyed, and repairs and rebuilding will require significant resources, according to a recent UN report.
Prayers for ‘stable’ peace
Mass is held daily in the damaged church building, where parishioners gave thanks after the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect last week.
“We have people who are sick, disabled, elderly and we all give thanks to God. We say, ‘Let’s keep praying for peace,’” Fr Ferrero said. “We pray for the peace agreement to be stable, permanent. So many times we have been promised peace and then it's gone.”
Several parishioners who left to check on their homes have returned after finding houses buried under rubble.
“People are happy with the ceasefire, trying to breathe and enjoy this situation but at the same time they are fearful,” the priest said.
“Some have gone to see their homes: they found nothing, the whole building is destroyed. Others have a place with their relatives or can stay in their own home if it's not fully destroyed. When they feel the situation is dangerous, they come back to the church.
“When they look at the future they don't know what they will do, where will they stay. There are no schools, no hospitals, no work, what is life going to be here?”
Updates for Pope
Christians in Gaza numbered 1,017 before the war. About 200 Christians and Muslims live in the nearby Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius that was also bombed by Israel. Many left Gaza after the church buildings were hit by shelling and sniper fire.
Parishioners have spoken about the struggle to find food and difficult living conditions, in which dozens share a single room.
Those at the Holy Family Church looked forward to the almost daily calls from Pope Francis, who prayed with them and checked on their safety.
Since Francis's death in April, Pope Leo XIV has stayed in contact with the priests, sometimes calling to get updates about the situation in the church, particularly during Israeli orders to leave.
“Pope Leo communicates by phone sometimes and [parish priest] Fr Gabriel [Romanelli] gives him updates,” Fr Ferrero said.
“There is no fixed day for calling. He asks about our situation inside the church. He encourages us always to be faithful, he commits his prayers and actions for us and for peace.
“This communication is very important to us because we know the Pope is helping, praying and doing as much as he can.”
The Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo received updates and called Fr Romanelli, assuring the parish “of his closeness and prayers”.
Pope Leo has often called for reconciliation, dialogue and an “enduring peace” and spoken out about the situation in Gaza.
“Two years of conflict have left death and destruction … especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, their parents, their friends – everything,” he said after a recent mass at St Peter’s Square in Rome following the ceasefire.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has said it never deliberately targeted churches or religious sites and “regretted any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians”.
Refusing to leave
Fr Ferrero said two severely injured parishioners are still recovering from their wounds after the July bombing of the church that killed three people and injured 13 parishioners.
“There are also sick people here, some bedridden, disabled children and lonely elders, who cannot move and cannot stay alone,” he said. “That is why, we three priests and five sisters decided to stay to assist them.
“We continue as much as possible with morning prayers, rosary and holy mass in the evening. We have activities and teaching for the children in informal school. We try to help as much as possible.”
