Many Christians in the Holy Land were pleased that Pope Leo Xiv elected as St. Peter's successor. Many of us hope that the new pope will follow the legacy of his former Pope Francis, especially on the issue of justice and peace.

The Holy See has historically played an important role in supporting Christianity in the existence of the Holy Land, whether through church activities, participation of influential political parties in and around the region, or through material and moral support. This has been reflected in the establishment of institutions such as the establishment of mobile clinics for children in Jerusalem, the University of Bethlehem, the Benedictine Centre in Nazareth, and recently Pope Francis of Popemobile, who provided donations to children with mobile clinics.

The most influential moment in our recent history was the Pope’s visit to our land – starting with Pope Paul VI in 1964, followed by Pope John Paul II in 2000, Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, and ending with Pope Francis in 2014.

We are Christians in the Holy Land and hope that Pope Leo will not only come to visit us, but will also help solve some of the challenges we face today in the birthplace of Christianity. As a community of 230,000 people, we are working to work with other components to strengthen the presence of Christianity as an active component of local society. But we do need help.

One of the main issues affecting Christian life in Israel is the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is a persistent source of regional instability, which burns violence in all forms, killing many people, including Christians.

The rise of religious and political extremism has made many of us feel like strangers in our own homes. As a result of conflict, economic deterioration and the decline in pilgrimage to the holy sites has led to the loss of livelihoods and the deterioration of socio-economic conditions. The widespread despair drives many people to immigrate or plan to leave in the near future, which reduces the number of people in our community.

Many local Christians want the Holy See to interact with key global and regional players to achieve a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Pope Francis talked about Gaza’s urgent need for peace in his last sermon. Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire and provided humanitarian assistance to the Avenue. We welcome these remarks and hope that he will continue to do his best to promote peace in the Holy Land.

In Palestine, the situation is unclear as Israel occupy all the wars in Gaza aimed at forming a Palestinian state, and all territories with limited powers by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, let alone the complete annexation of East Jerusalem. This reality requires the Church to take thoughtful action on the Holy See and local level to provide hope for people during these dark times.

In Israel, cooperation is urgently needed between Roman churches and local churches (bishops, pastors and believers) to address many of the issues that affect the Christian and non-Christian communities. Working with all sectors of local society is crucial to put pressure on the country to treat all its citizens equally and maintain their dignity.

Christians hope that the Holy See can work with us to achieve equality. As a community, we face Israeli laws that discriminate against us under racial and religious conditions; we need to support our efforts to abolish such laws.

Efforts to address painful problems that negatively affect Christian existence, such as the cases of Iqrit and Biram, whose Catholic Christian residents were fired before they were destroyed by Israeli authorities in 1951. Since then, residents and their descendants have been demanding to return to their ancestral lands.

The Holy See also needs stronger intervention to support Christian institutions operating under Israeli control, which face increasing challenges, such as attempts by certain municipalities to impose large taxes in violation of past agreements, which are apparently discriminatory underfunding of Christian schools by Israeli authorities and threats to church property.

Many Christians in the Holy Land also hope that Pope Leo XIV will work to improve unity among them, including efforts to reach the unified dates of major religious holidays, especially Christmas and Easter. They also called for greater joint efforts among the churches to organize pilgrimage to the Holy Land, including not only visiting religious sites, but also interacting with believers who live there. This is important because it will help us raise awareness of the challenges we face globally and feel a component of the universal church.

Overall, Christians in the Holy Land, like Christians around the world, long to see their fathers in Pope Leo XIV - a father who visits them, welcomes them to visit, consults them and listens to their concerns, protects them from harm, with them being attacked or oppressed, and defeated in those who are not oppressed, they are persecuted, they may be defeated, they are considered opposition to the church.

Pope Leo XIV should know that he has many children in the Holy Land, who love him and understand that he and the Holy See are busy with so many problems around the world.

In the Holy Land, Christians pray for success in his mission and continue praying, fully realizing how complicated it is. But most importantly, the kids need their father-that's what they expect most: Although he may be busy, he will always be with them.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own views and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.