Excerpt
Gaza’s only Catholic parish keeps its doors open amid the siege—and one of its priests, Fr. Romanelli, calls on the world to pray for peace. In Dearborn, where faith, family, and justice converge, his simple plea echoes loudly.
In Gaza, where bombs fall and fear swells, Faith stands firmer. Fr. Gabriel Romanelli—the parish priest at the Holy Family Catholic Church, the only Catholic parish in Gaza—still opens his doors. With “great simplicity and humility,” he stands “in the Lord’s hands,” serving the elderly, the sick, and anyone suffering. That kind of courage is a language that Dearborn parents, activists, and faith leaders know well.
Vatican News
“We are in the Lord’s hands, and we trust that, with the help of many good people around the world, this will stop.”
—Fr. Gabriel Romanelli Vatican News
Gaza’s Catholic community—a mix of priests, sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, and religious of the Institute of the Incarnate Word—choose to stay. Not evacuate. They stay because “we serve Him in the person of the poor and the sick, of those who suffer.”
Vatican News
It’s not abstract theology—it’s food, medicine, and solace for real people whose lives are crumbling. For Dearborn’s large Arab and Muslim American population, that’s more than solidarity. It’s accountability. Our community’s faith traditions—Muslim, Christian, Druze—know that witnessing is obligation.
“Seeing the needs of the elderly… people with disabilities… we understand that the Lord is calling us to continue serving them—because otherwise… how will those people survive…?”
—Fr. Romanelli Vatican News
Fr. Romanelli echoed higher clergy in Jerusalem: “pray for peace, for the freedom of all who are deprived, for the hostages, for the possibility that the sick and wounded may be treated.” He didn’t just ask for words—he asked for prayer coupled with action.
Vatican News
Why this matters in Dearborn:
- Our diaspora feels every bomb, every blocked aid convoy, every injustice. Faith isn’t a spectator sport—it’s a call to moral clarity.
- A priest reaching his limits yet remaining on the ground asks us: What will we do, here?
- Dearborn has organized, lobbied, and rallied. Fr. Romanelli’s example does what political speeches can’t—it reminds us that civic duty and faith walk hand in hand.
Footnotes / Sources
- Fr. Gabriel Romanelli’s remarks and context: Vatican News, “Fr. Romanelli: Gazan Christians remain with those who suffer,” 27 August 2025. Vatican News
Dearborn Blog 