The moment has arrived. Sunday, July 25 will be the first time that the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly -announced by Pope Francis at the last Angelus in January-just before the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the "grandparents" of Jesus.
This year will be part of the initiatives of the Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia" coordinated by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life and will be celebrated in all the dioceses of the world, which will dedicate one of their Sunday Masses to the celebration of the Day.
The young people - the "grandchildren" - will also be mobilized with visits to hospitals or nursing homes, not forgetting a remembrance of those who did not make it through Covid-19, perhaps with a moment of prayer by reading their names and lighting a candle.
In the Message written for this first World Day, Pope Francis stressed the importance of the vocation of the "Third Age", called to "guard the roots, transmit the faith to the young and care for the little ones". He himself proposed "the visit of an angel" on this day for every grandparent and every elderly person, "especially those who are most alone".
The Pope also recalled that the whole Church is close to people who are getting older: "she cares for you, she loves you and does not want to leave you alone!", and stressed that "there is no age at which you can withdraw from the task of proclaiming the Gospel, from the task of passing on traditions to your grandchildren".
What matters to the Pontiff is to build the world of tomorrow "in fraternity and social friendship" and, for this reason, the elderly are fundamental, the only ones who can help to lay the three fundamental pillars of this construction: "dreams, memory and prayer".
What matters to the Pontiff is to build the world of tomorrow "in fraternity and social friendship" and, for this reason, the elderly are fundamental.
Giovanni Tridente
In short, we must first "dream" of a world of justice, peace and solidarity, and we must transmit these dreams to the young. This would not be possible without "memory", which can only be shared by those who have lived it - like the "grandparents" who have suffered the tragedies of war and destruction. Finally, "prayer," and that of the elderly, "is a lung of which the Church and the world cannot be deprived," as Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium.
Plenary indulgence
At the request of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, the Apostolic Penitentiary has issued a Decree by which it a plenary indulgence is granted to those who participate in any way in the Day. In addition to the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), the indulgence is also granted to those who "dedicate an adequate amount of time to visit in person or virtually their older brothers and sisters in need or difficulty: the sick, the abandoned, the disabled...".
The highlight of the day will be the Mass in the Vatican Basilica presided over by Pope Francis, with the participation of a representation of grandparents and elderly people from the Diocese of Rome. In the meantime, you can be present on social networks through the # I'malwayswithyou campaign, inspired by the theme of the event, with which to tell about the various initiatives.
