Cardinal Pizzaballa presides over Saint Augustine festivities in Pavia

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the Pontifical Mass in honor of Saint Augustine at the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro in Pavia. The ceremony was attended by local authorities and Bishop Corrado Sanguineti.

During his homily, Cardinal Pizzaballa addressed the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the West Bank. He noted that while a partial ceasefire has begun, the situation remains difficult and reconstruction efforts are not yet realized. He emphasized that peace cannot be achieved through one side defeating the other, stating, “no victory of one over the other can give us peace.”

The Cardinal urged for empathy, noting that Israelis, Palestinians, and Christians all feel like victims in the Holy Land. He called on the Church to listen to human anxieties rather than seeking to conquer the world, drawing parallels to Saint Augustine, who served as a pastor during a time of crisis.