| Holy Family Church | |
|---|---|
كنيسة العائلة المقدسة Kanisat Al-ayilat Al-muqadasa | |
 The church exterior, in 2022 | |
 Holy Family Church | |
| 31°31′26.70060″N34°27′7.17494″E / 31.5240835000°N 34.4519930389°E /31.5240835000; 34.4519930389 | |
| Location | Gaza City |
| Country | Palestine |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Pierbattista Pizzaballa |
| Priest | Fr Gabriel RomanelliIVE |
_-_interior.jpg)
TheHoly Family Church (Arabic:كنيسة العائلة المقدسة) ofGaza City is the onlyCatholic church inGaza,Palestine.[1][2] Construction of the church finished in 1965.
The parish includes a school which provides a Christian education to children in Gaza, and it works closely with the nearby religious congregations of theMissionaries of Charity,Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM, the female branch of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word),[3] and theRosary Sisters.[4] The Missionaries of Charity care for the elderly and disabled,[5] and the Rosary Sisters operate a school.[6] The community is served by priests from theInstitute of the Incarnate Word (the male branch of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word).
The church and its school have been attacked multiple times by theIsraeli Defense Force since the 2023 outbreak of theGaza War. The attacks have resulted in multiple deaths ofGazan Christians and damage to the church.[7][8][9]
The church was built in the 1960s, with construction finishing in 1965.[10][11] In 1974, theLatin Patriarchate of Jerusalem founded the Holy Family School, which has over 1,200 students. In 2000, the Rosary Sisters founded another school (kindergarten and elementary) which has around 800 students. The schools provide education to children regardless of religion, and many local Muslims send their children to the schools.[12][13]
From 1995 to 2009, FatherManuel Musallam, a noted Palestinian peace activist, was parish priest of the Holy Family community.[14] In 2007, the Rosary Sisters' convent was looted and vandalized by unknown perpetrators. When asked about Muslim–Christian relations in Gaza after the attack, Fr. Musallam said that relations were excellent, and that Muslims in the community had promised to help repair the damage.[13]
During the2014 Gaza War, the parish school and the pastor's office were partially destroyed by an Israeli airstrike aimed at a nearby house.[15]
_-_entrance_to_the_compound.jpg)
In 2021, the Catholic community in Gaza consisted of 133 people. The Rosary Sisters' school was damaged by an Israeli airstrike during the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[16]
During the2023 Gaza War, the church, school, and convents have sheltered several hundred refugees,[17] including Christian families whose homes were destroyed.[18][19][20] On 9 October,Pope Francis called the parish priest, Gabriel RomanelliIVE, to offer prayer for the Christian community of Gaza. At the time, Romanelli was stranded inBethlehem and unable to return to Gaza due to the war.[21] On 16 October, Pope Francis called Yusuf AsaadIVE and Nabila SalehSSVM, both serving at Holy Family, to offer more support for the faithful of Gaza.[22][23] On 4 November, the Rosary Sisters' school was destroyed when it was targeted by an Israeli air strike.[24][25] As of 1 December, Romanelli, still unable to return to Gaza, reported that 600 people were sheltering in the church. He also thanked Pope Francis andPatriarch Pizzaballa, and said that the pope had called the Holy Family parish daily.[26][27] On 11 December,Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reported that the church had been damaged by shrapnel from Israeli airstrikes, which destroyed solar panels, water tanks, and other buildings in the parish complex. ACN also reported that the parish has run out of fuel, cutting off most communication.[28] British-Palestinian MP,Layla Moran, who has family members sheltering there, has stated, "I fear my family under siege by Israeli forces in a church in Gaza will not survive until Christmas, between the snipers and the lack of water."[29] Media outlets have reported that around 650Palestinian Christians have used the church as a refuge since the start of the war.[30]
On 16 December 2023,Naheda and Samr Anton were killed by gunfire in the church compound.Pierbattista Pizzaballa, theLatin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said: “Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety. Seven more people were shot and wounded as they tried to protect others inside the church compound. No warning was given, no notification was provided. They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.”[31] Pizzaballa said the shooter was "a sniper of theIDF".[32] The incident was widely reported[33][8][34] and condemned by church figures includingPope Francis[35][36] and theArchbishop of Westminster,CardinalVincent Nichols.[37][38] TheIsraeli military said it had not targeted the church.[39] Following an investigation, the IDF alleged thatHamas had fired an RPG from the vicinity of church, and that IDF soldiers had fired back and hit Hamas spotters. The Catholic Church has maintained no Palestinian belligerents were in the area, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a fiery rebuke, stating the woman had been "intentionally targeted" and killed “in cold blood.”[40][31]
On 7 July 2024, an Israeli bomb targeting Palestinian Deputy Labor MinisterIhab al-Ghussein hit the Holy Family Catholic School, killing four people sheltered there, including the official.[41][42][43] The attack was condemned by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.[7]
On 17 July 2025, three people were killed and ten others were injured, including the parish priest, Gabriel Romanelli, after Israeli forces targeted the church with tank fire.[44][45] The attack was later condemned by thePrime Minister of Italy,Giorgia Meloni, stating that, "The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude."[46][47]Pope Leo XIV said that he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack".[9] TheIsraeli Defense Forces claim the church was mistakenly hit by stray fire, but this assertion is contested byCardinal Pizzaballa, theLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the Patriarchate condemning the attack as "targeting of civilians and of a sacred place."[44][48][9] TheAmerican Jewish Committee subsequently directed a $25,000 donation to the church via theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for repairs, while not criticising Israel for the strike and repeating its explanation for it in its donation announcement.[49]
Media related toHoly Family church in Gaza City at Wikimedia Commons| Gaza | |||||
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| Historic buildings and institutions | |||||
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Religious sites inPalestine | ||
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| Bethlehem Governorate |  | |
| Hebron Governorate | ||
| Jenin Governorate | ||
| Jericho Governorate | ||
| Jerusalem Governorate | ||
| Nablus Governorate | ||
| Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate | ||
| Salfit Governorate | ||
| Tulkarm Governorate | ||
| Qalqiliya Governorate | ||
| Gaza Governorate | ||
† Access to the site is controlled by Israel. | ||
