The pontiff began phoning Gaza’s Christians every day, more often on the worst days. He was still calling when failing health forced him to suspend normal activities. His conduit was Father Gabriel Romanelli, a 55-year-old priest, a compatriot from Argentina, who had been living in Gaza since 2005.

For months, the pontiff spoke by telephone almost every night with people sheltering in a Catholic church in the battered enclave, a ritual he tried to keep up in the hospital.