The Latin parish in the Gaza Strip celebrated "its own" Christmas. On Sunday the 16th of December in the church of the Holy Family, the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Msgr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presided Mass Father IBRAHIM SHOMALI Chancellor Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem "Gaza is a beautiful but closed city, its inhabitants are simple and do not have the joyful opportunity of visiting the city of Christmas". In his Homily, Msgr. Pizzaballa wanted to express his gratitude for being able to meet the parishioners of Gaza and celebrate Christmas together. A real tradition - it started in the early 90s - that of celebrating Christmas on the third Sunday of Advent; a way to reassure the Christians of the strip of not having been forgotten S.E. Msgr. PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, ofm Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem Since many Christians can not come to Bethlehem, we came here to celebrate together, demonstrating the unity of the church. It is always very good to see that despite the many difficulties of this population are able to express with simplicity, with great joy their belonging to Christ, their joy of being Christians and also their serenity despite the difficult situation  The Apostolic Administrator then exhorted the faithful to deepen their faith and to continue to hope. S.E. Msgr. PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, ofm Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem I think it's the best Christmas message they can give us: even in the saddest circumstances, we can be happy