Pope Francis Calls Children of War ‘Little Jesuses of Today’

• Pope Francis called children whose lives are devastated by war the “little Jesuses” of today.
• He said he hoped for peace to come “in Israel and Palestine.”
• The pope said he particularly embraced the Christian communities of Gaza and the parish of Gaza.

In a Christmas address, Pope Francis called for peace and a solution to the “desperate humanitarian situation” in Gaza. His remarks came after Christmas was canceled in Bethlehem amidst the Israel-Hamas war, with streets normally robust with tourism emptied.

Pope Francis said he hoped for peace to come “in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples.” He said he embraced them all, particularly the Christian communities of Gaza and the parish of Gaza. He also reiterated his “urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage.”

“My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack on October 7,” Pope Francis said.

In his address, the pope pleaded “for an end to the military operations,” and called for a solution to the “desperate humanitarian situation.”

He went on to call “all those little ones whose childhood has been devastated by war” the “little Jesuses of today.”

The Israel-Hamas war has left at least 20,000 Gazans dead, per Gaza’s Hamas-affiliated health ministry, and over 50,000 injured, following Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead and thousands injured. A United Nations report found that half a million Gazans — one in four households — are facing a lack of food and starvation.

Pope Francis has previously said that Israeli and Palestinian people “have the right to live in peace.” Earlier this month, he condemned an attack on a Catholic Parish in Gaza.

“Some say, ‘This is terrorism. This is war.’ Yes, it is war. It is terrorism,” Francis said in the wake of the attack.

In his Christmas address, the pope also called out rising arms production and public funding going towards war, rather than food. He spoke against “the interests and the profits that move the puppet strings of war,” and called for peace worldwide, including in Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.

“People, who desire not weapons but bread, who struggle to make ends meet and desire only peace, have no idea how many public funds are being spent on arms,” Francis said.

He also called to “let us pray for peace in Palestine and Israel.”

“May there be an end to the fueling of violence and hatred,” Pope Francis said.