Gaza Latin Church

I spent a lovely morning in the market in the Old City with some friends, wandering through the stalls, enjoying the hustle and bustle of a busy market place, taking in the aromas of fruit, spices, and the less pleasant smells of rabbits and chickens waiting to be purchased.

After strolling through the market, we set out to look for the old Russian Orthodox church which is next to a very old mosque. However, when I asked someone for directions, he opted to bring us to see Gaza Latin Church instead. We had stumbled upon one of the rare members of their congregation.

He brought us around several corners to a relatively quiet, tree-lined street. A metal door and high walls surrounded the church compound. An elderly man granted us access and told us to check in with security.

As we walked across the compound, watching a group of young boys play football in the churchyard, I took a few snaps of the building. However, we were not given permission to take photographs inside the church.

It is not the prettiest church. It is quite modern, built in 1952, and the frescoes inside would not be to my taste. Still, it was lovely to see it.

A slender lady in a blue nun's habit was washing the floor of the altar. We spoke with her for some time. She was a gentle, soft-spoken Argentinian woman of forty, who came to Gaza two years ago. She told us how determined she had been to come to Gaza, though she is a relatively new member of the order. The parish priest, Fr Jorge Hernandez, and one other nun are also Argentinian. Another nun is from Brazil.

The Catholic community in Gaza is very small, numbering a few hundred at most. Around 70 people attend the weekly Mass on Sundays. Since I work on Sundays, I asked if there is another service I could attend and she told me that there is a prayer service on Thursday evenings. I hope to join them one evening.