At a time when every silence in Gaza trembles with the threat of renewed violence, one voice from the far side of the world has asked to be heard—a voice that carries both the anguish and the hope of the Holy Land. Cardinal Fernando Chomali, the archbishop of Santiago de Chile and the only cardinal of Palestinian descent in the College of Cardinals, has offered himself as a mediator for peace in the Middle East, with the blessing of Pope Leo XIV. Chomali, 68, met with the Pope on October 20, 2025, to formally express, among other things, his desire to play an active role in fostering dialogue between Israel and Palestine. It was more than a diplomatic proposal; it was a personal plea. “I told him that I wanted to take part in creating bonds of peace, of dialogue,” the cardinal said after the meeting. “I asked him to count on me—and on the entire Palestinian community that longs for peace and the end of this war.”

Chilean cardinal of Palestinian origin offers to mediate conflict in the Holy Land on behalf of the Pope | ZENIT – English