“It was a great blessing to be able to speak with him,” Sister Nabila Saleh said. “He gave us courage and the support of prayer.”

Joseph Czuba of Plainfield, Illinois, and his wife are members of St. Mary Immaculate Parish.

On “Inside the Vatican, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell sit down in Rome to cover the second week of the synod, which covered contentious issues in the church, such as the inclusion of L.G.B.T. people and women deacons.

The Catholic Church’s highest ranking prelate in the Holy Land offered his “absolute availability” to be exchanged for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas.

Francis did not say whether this “compañero” was in fact among those killed, injured or taken hostage.

Pope Francis has called for the respect of “humanitarian rights…above all in Gaza,” as well as the guarantee of “humanitarian corridors” and the release of the hostages.