VATICAN CITY - After making available the importation of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the Apostolic Charity Treasury took care of sending medicines for the little ones.

At a time when the "spark of hope" that the Pope spoke of in the Angelus prayer last Sunday is becoming more and more concrete in the Holy Land, the Pope's attention is turning to the little ones. Through the Apostolic Charity Treasury, the Dicastery for the Service of Mercy, five thousand packs of antibiotics have been sent to Gaza, intended for children who are among the most affected victims of the two-year conflict. This gesture was made possible by the opening of border crossings through which humanitarian aid destined for the inhabitants of the Strip can be transported.

"We follow the words contained in the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te dedicated to the poor," said Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Ministry of Mercy, "because it is necessary to act, to pay attention to those who are in need." This papal document clearly expresses the direction in which the Church has always taken, because "she knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is only credible when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome."

Through the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, the antibiotics were distributed to those in need. The papal almoner also recalled that during the war years the dicastery tried to help by sending money to buy food and oil. The Pope's charity does not cease even in the face of the conflict in Ukraine. After many trips with humanitarian aid, electricity generators and warm clothes, the Dicastery for the Service of Mercy continues to support the Basilica of St. Sophia in Rome, "the church of the Ukrainians", which is actively involved in humanitarian aid in Eastern Europe: trucks loaded with basic needs are constantly leaving from there.

In the last few days, white parcels marked with the Vatican and Ukrainian flags and the inscription in Italian and Ukrainian "Pope Leo XIV's gift to the people of Kharkiv" have arrived in Kharkiv. Inside are canned food, oil, pasta, meat and cleaning products. It is the Pope's way of approaching the suffering and pain of the Ukrainian people, exhausted by years of war.¨

Benedetta Capelli - Vatican City

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