Gaza: Holy Family School reopens - 'Light in the darkness'

Cardinal Pizzaballa at the opening ceremony

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has reopened the Holy Family Catholic School in Gaza City, after it was closed for about three years due to the war, amid a shortage of educational supplies.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem said during a conference in Rome yesterday: "We have reopened a school that accommodates 1,000 students, but we still do not have desks and pencils, and children study on the ground."

Beato Sappaglia explained that teachers continue to work using recycled paper, adding: "Amidst the rubble and fears in Gaza, a glimmer of life emerges that no war can erase."

The school accommodates about 180 children in its nursery and kindergarten stages, and 820 students from first grade to preparatory school, including about 130 Christian students, representing about 13 percent of the total students, while Muslims make up the majority of the students.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest at Holy Family Church in Gaza, said the reopening of the school represents "light in the darkness and a sign of hope." He pointed out that teachers and students continue to study and work despite the effects of the war and the destruction surrounding the school.

The school was also a shelter for more than 450 displaced people during the war, before it was reopened to welcome students. Romanelli said the parish is committed to restoring some of the natural signs of life, despite "nothing being normal in Gaza."

According to George Okrouch, director of the Office for Project Development under the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, the Patriarchate has provided psychological and social support programs for students and teachers, as well as humanitarian aid to affected families, as part of its efforts to continue education and support the local community in Gaza.

He added: "For the first time, all Christian students in Gaza will study together in one Christian school, which fosters a sense of belonging to the community and shows that the Church is still close to them and accompanies them in the midst of everything they go through."

Before the war, there were five Christian schools in Gaza: three Catholic, one Orthodox, and one Evangelical, but most of them have ceased operations.