Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch urges Palestinians to celebrate Christmas.
On Wednesday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, urged Palestinians from Manger Square in Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas despite two years of a continuous offensive by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza.
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“What I saw in Gaza is a disaster, but I also saw there a desire to live,” said the cardinal, who visited Gaza City over the weekend, including its only Catholic parish, the Church of the Holy Family.
“It is possible to celebrate in Gaza, it is possible to celebrate in Bethlehem. We need to celebrate not only today, but every day of the year,” Pizzaballa said, while acknowledging that problems remain unresolved.
His words were heard by only dozens of Palestinian families, after two years without Christmas celebrations in solidarity with Gaza and two previous years canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His Beatitude Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, addressing Christians in Bethlehem today says “the light of Bethlehem is the Light of the World”, adding that “I saw in Gaza disaster there, the situation is really catastrophic, but I saw there also the desire for life”:
“Dear… pic.twitter.com/RHq8PazV0e
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) December 24, 2025
The 2025 Christmas marked the first time in years that the drums and bagpipes of thousands of Palestinian Boy Scouts from Beit Sahour, Birzeit and Jerusalem were heard again.
Pizzaballa also said he saw “the light of Bethlehem” — where Christian tradition places the birth of Jesus — and the light in all those who gathered there, once again appealing to the festive spirit of Christmas.
“The light of Bethlehem is the light of the world,” the Latin patriarch said, adding that in Gaza, “in the middle of nothingness, they can celebrate and rejoice despite the nothingness. This reminds us that it is possible to rise from human devastation.”
Pizzaballa, a priest of the Franciscan order, is the highest-ranking Catholic authority in the Holy Land. His title as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, granted in 2020, makes him the pope’s representative in the region and places him in charge of the Catholic churches in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Cyprus.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Middle East: Medical authorities in Gaza reported that five people were killed due to Israeli aggression, despite the ceasefire agreement. pic.twitter.com/ZThhl9nu4W
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 18, 2025
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Source: EFE
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