ROME (RNS) – Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a leading figure in the Catholic Church’s advocacy for peace in the Middle East, said new leadership in Israel and the Palestinian territories is needed to bring back hope to their suffering populations after the ceasefire agreement signed earlier this week.
“A change of leadership is necessary to have a change in future prospectives,” said Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, adding that related religious institutions could benefit from leadership change as well.
Commenting on the ceasefire agreement in Rome on Wednesday (Oct. 15), Pizzaballa cautioned against using the term “peace” too quickly, as violence continues to ensue in the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza.
“Peace needs to be prepared,” he said. “The failures of the various agreements in the past taught us that one must not rush to use the term peace. The next generation will be able to build it, but only if this generation prepares it.”
He also said the ongoing violence in Gaza is “unfortunately inevitable” and part of the “difficult, challenging and fragile” journey toward building peace. But to create it, the cardinal said there must be a change in the way people are communicating, saying “too much space was left to extremists who used the language of hatred and exclusion.”
Pizzaballa made his comments at a conference at Villa Nazareth, a prestigious Roman college that has shaped Vatican diplomats for decades. The cardinal was there to receive the Achille Silvestrini International Prize for Dialogue and Peace on behalf of the priests and nuns of the Holy Family Church Catholic parish in Gaza, which received 68,125 euros raised to rebuild the church and community along with the prize.
Displaced Palestinians with their belongings pass destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Oct. 10, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to pause their war and release remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
He said that during the last two years, he would often call Catholics who lived in the parish — which took in approximately 550 refugees, most of them Muslim — to warn them of danger. The cardinal said the nuns and priests told him they cared for sick and disabled people and the elderly who could not flee and chose to stay with them. Others, he said, replied that if they had access to the Eucharist, they would remain.
The Holy Family parish was struck by an Israeli airstrike on July 17, resulting in three deaths and several injuries. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem struggled to get food and medicine to the parish, which was often without electricity or any means of communication. On Tuesday, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem issued a statement rejoicing at the ceasefire agreement and calling for “a wide-scale humanitarian operation” for Palestinians in Gaza.
In his remarks at the event, Pizzaballa praised the Christian community in Gaza as a “small symbol” that will help rebuild hope.
As the Holy Land embarks on the path toward peace, he said, the most difficult task lies ahead. “We will have to rebuild not just the infrastructures but also the human devastation that the war created,” he said, adding it will require the efforts of people of goodwill.
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was also at the event in his role as president of the university. He spoke hopefully about the path toward peace in Gaza and condemned the “growing hatred that denigrates those who are on the opposite side as enemies, collateral damage or even animals.”
Speaking to journalists before the event, Parolin underlined the Vatican’s commitment to host any meetings or negotiations to promote peace in the Holy Land but added that its concern is mostly to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the region. He also voiced his hope that President Donald Trump will be able to shift his focus to bring peace to Ukraine as well. “America has an important role in the solution to the war in Ukraine. Efforts have already been made,” he said.
Parolin read a brief message from Pope Leo XIV, assuring the members of the Gaza parish of his prayer and closeness “so that it might continue its mission at the service of the weakest, to offer comfort and promote hope in every person for a tomorrow of justice and peace.”
In a video message shown at the event, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest in Gaza, voiced appreciation of the many church members, saying that “as Catholics, we are convinced that we are men and women of dialogue and peace.” The Rev. Youssef Assad, a missionary who serves in the parish, and the Rev. Carlos Ferrero, the provincial superior of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, were also honored for their work.
Sister Delphina, who oversees the Community of the Sisters of Charity in Gaza, spoke at the event about the importance of seeing each other as brothers and sisters to overcome political and religious divides. Sister Madre Maria del Cielo of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara recalled the many times she and her sisters would pray together with tears on their faces as the bombs shook the parish and convent walls.
A family from Gaza with three young children was also present at the award ceremony, noting they felt “great joy” after the news of the ceasefire. “The house is destroyed, but it can be rebuilt,” said the father, Eyad.
