Pope Francis regularly called a church in Gaza to ask how residents there were doing during the Israel-Hamas war. He is remembered as a defender and consoling presence.

In Jerusalem, mourners gathered at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to remember Pope Francis, who championed peace across the Middle East. Local clergy say he called Gaza’s only Catholic parish daily,

Thousands of mourners are still lining up outside St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis as he lies in state before his funeral on Saturday.