By Shireen Hilal Awwad

I will always appreciate and cherish my experience visiting the Vatican and meeting the Pope on the 22^{nd of} November 2023.

Along with other Palestinians who have been affected by the war, were invited to the Vatican to meet with His Holiness on a personal level. He wanted to hear directly from us what was happening in Gaza.

I felt so obligated to go and share this experience for many reasons. I wanted to be sure that the pain of our people and that the cry for justice should be heard.

We know that the Pope is one of the most influential figures in this world. He is someone to whom many people listen. It was not easy to leave my family behind. This is because the war targets everyone here in the West Bank and Gaza. In such times our families need us.

It was not easy to leave my family behind. This is because the war targets everyone here in the West Bank and Gaza. In such times our families need us. How many of us are related directly to what is happening? To me, every Palestinian is a family member, and their pain is my pain. Now, back to our visit to the Vatican.

This visit was short and intense. Just two days, and a busy schedule. The focus was on our visit to His Holiness Pope Francis. However, we also just had time to visit St. Peter’s Church and Square. We could not thoroughly enjoy the beauty of the buildings and area, due to the pressure of time and the reason for the visit.

I would now like to share the highlights of our visit to the Vatican.

·         When the Palestinian delegation walked into the Vatican, we were welcomed by Vatican officials and were given half an hour to be with the Pope. Our meeting was from 8:00 am – 8: 30 am. We were all ready, and eager to share. We entered a large hall, where we were all seated.

·         After a few minutes, His Holiness Pope Francis came in and welcomed every single person in the delegation. The conversation started with a welcome from the Pope and short introductions.

·         We were surprised that the Pope knew many details about the situation in Gaza. He was aware that there was no fuel, electricity, medical supplies, basic humanitarian needs, and more. He said that he has been in direct contact with the priest of the Latin Church, who updates him with the news of the parish and that of Gaza in general.

·         In addition, he stated that violence can only bring violence. He added that it has gone beyond war, and terrorism cannot be countered with terrorism.

·         When he was listening to some of the personal stories, I noticed that His Holiness Pope Francis’s eyes began to tear in anguish.

·         We emphasized that thousands of innocent children have been killed for no reason. When we mentioned that, he said that this is genocide. He spoke to us in Italian, but, when he said ‘genocide,’ he said it in English. The same term Genocide was repeated in his concluding remarks.

·         When we spoke, he was able to understand all the English. However, when he spoke, he spoke in his language – except for twice repeating the term genocide. We believe that what is happening in Palestine is genocide against Palestinians, but we were shocked to hear His Holiness say that. For the Pope to make such a statement, we were convinced that he is supportive, and wants peace, rather than the shedding of innocent blood.

·         Towards the end of the visit, as a Christian, I emphasized the importance of stopping the war on Gaza. This is because our churches will be turned into museums. We need Christians in the Land. However, to me, all the people of Gaza are family.

·         In addition, my colleague, Dr. Joseph AL Khoury, pleaded with the Pope to take the step to visit Gaza and pray over it for the war to stop.

The Vatican officials tried to convince us that the Pope did not use the term genocide. We are not deaf. All twelve of us heard it. Of course, what has been shared by the Pope was not very welcome to the supporters of Israel. They started attacking the Pope, but we know that such a statement was made.

Unfortunately, no one was able to stop the bombing of Gaza and its civilians. A catastrophe is taking place, and the international leaders and governments are blind.

We are so grateful to the Palestinian Embassy at the Vatican, who organized the visit. This was done so well and provided particularly good advocacy. We made a short visit to the Embassy, where we gave interviews.