DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — In the last 18 months of his life, Pope Francis had a frequent evening ritual: He would call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war.
That small act of compassion made a big impression on Gaza’s tiny Christian community and was why he was remembered at his death Monday as a beloved father figure in the beleaguered territory.
“I was deeply saddened. He was our biggest supporter after God,” said Suheil Abu Dawoud, a 19-year-old Christian in Gaza.
Francis “always healed our wounds and asked us to be strong,” he said. “He was
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