Pope Francis has decided to institute a church-wide celebration of a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. From this year it is held on the fourth Sunday of July, near the liturgical memorial of Saint Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.
By Vatican News staff reporter
Following the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis announced the establishment of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which will take place every year on the fourth Sunday in July, near the Feast of St. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.
In remembrance of the coming feast of the presentation of Jesus in the temple – when the elderly Simeon and Anna met the child Jesus and recognized Him as the Messiah, Pope Francis said: “Even today the Holy Spirit awakens thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly. . “The voice of the aged ‘is precious,’ he said, ‘because it sings the praises of God and preserves the roots of the peoples.’
The elderly, he continued, “remind us that age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between the different generations, to pass on the experience of life to the young.”
Elderly people should not be forgotten
The Holy Father said that he instituted the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly because ‘grandparents are often forgotten, and we forget the riches of preserving roots and passing on’ that the elderly have received.
He stressed the importance of grandparents and grandchildren getting to know each other, because ‘as the prophet Joel says, grandparents see how their grandchildren dream’, while ‘young people, drawing strength from their grandparents, will go ahead and prophesy’.
First fruits of the Amoris Laetitia family year
In a press release following the announcement, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the convent for lay, family and life, setting up the day of grandparents and the elderly ‘is the first fruit of the Amoris Laetitia family year, a gift for the whole Church destined to continue in the future. ”
He added: ‘The pastoral care of the elderly is a priority that can no longer be postponed by any Christian community. In the encyclical Fratelli tutti, the Holy Father reminds us that no one is saved alone. With that in mind, we must cherish the spiritual and human riches that have been passed down from generation to generation. ”
In the statement of the Dicastery it is noted that Pope Francis is expected to celebrate the first World Day on the evening of Sunday 25 July in St. Closer to the day, the Dicastery will ‘announce further initiatives that will mark the occasion.’
Priorities for Pope Francis
Within the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Vittorio Scelzo is involved in the pastoral care of the elderly. He notes that the celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is linked to the days that Pope Francis instituted for the Word of God and the poor. In an interview with Vatican News, Scelzo stressed that ‘the poor, the Bible and the elderly’ are three priorities ‘of Pope Francis’ pontificate, priorities destined to ‘mark the future of the church’.
It is necessary to bridge the gap between the older and younger generation, Scelzo said, adding: ‘Elderly people are not saved by themselves. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, we saw how many elderly people were not rescued. “Pope Francis wants to remind us that ‘young people, adults and our society cannot save themselves without the elderly,'” Scelzo said. He noted that intergenerational dialogue is essential: “To emerge from the crisis better and not worse, every society must process its roots and develop a new synthesis of its values, including from dialogue with the elderly.”
The dreams of the elderly
Scelzo continues, ‘The opposite of the throwaway culture is precisely pastoral care for the elderly: to place the elderly at the center of the lives of our communities every day. Not just in emergencies, not just when it’s too late to realize it. ”
Elderly people “are trees that always bear fruit and people who keep dreaming.” Therefore, young people must be ‘brought into dialogue with the dreams of the elderly’. Scelzo remembers that this is a message that is often repeated by Pope Francis. “The dreams of the elderly have built up our society; I am thinking, for example, of Europe, of a world without war. ‘The encyclical Tutti fratelli is full of “this dream of a world without war.” This is the dream that ‘our elders, our grandparents had after World War II’.
“Perhaps,” concludes Vittorio Scelzo, “we need to engage with these dreams” in order to “understand what the dreams should be for the future of our society.”