Cardinal Vincent Nichols visited the Gaza Strip Sunday to strengthen and encourage the tiny Christian population there.
"There've always been Christians here. Their numbers are small, but I believe their faith is strong," he said.
Before the terrorist organization took over Gaza in 2007, the Christian population in the coastal enclave was over 3,000. Today, just 1,200 Christians remain, most of them Orthodox.
The terror group has repeatedly persecuted Gaza's tiny Christian population, attacking churches, homes, and graves.
With a shattered economy, persecution, and the constant threat of violence between Hamas terrorists and Israeli soldiers, many Christians have left Gaza to find a better life elsewhere.
Cardinal Nichols led Mass at the Holy Family Church on Sunday, calling on others to "pray for the protection" of the Christian community in Gaza.
He first visited Gaza in 2014 at the end of a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli troops hit dozens of terror sites in Gaza to stop Hamas from shooting rockets at Israel's civilian population. The result was mass casualties and destroyed buildings.
Thousands of buildings and homes in Gaza were damaged from the fighting. The cardinal said Sunday that while he saw "some signs of rebuilding, there is an awful lot of damage that is still untouched."
"The whole world is worried about the stability of the Middle East," where both Christians and Muslims "are persecuted and murdered by the extremists," he said.
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