Top church leaders visited Gaza after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell, an attack that killed three.

Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, center, arrives to his headquarters after a Mass in memory of Pope Francis, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

To many, he was known as "the doorkeeper," and they would share with him their personal struggles with faith, family, life's challenges.