VATICAN: Pope Francis Institutes World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
Pope Francis, Credit Public domain
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Pope Francis on Sunday, January 31, declared World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly to be celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July close to the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.
“Grandparents are often forgotten and we forget this richness of preserving our roots and passing them on,” Pope Francis said during the Sunday Angelus adding, “For this reason I have decided to establish the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly.”
The Pontiff highlighted that “old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the youth.”
He reflected on the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple when Simeon and Anna, both elderly, recognized Jesus as the Messiah and said, “The Holy Spirit still arouses thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly today: their voice is precious because it sings the praises of God and guards the roots of people.”
The first celebration marking the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly this year will be on July 25.
The Holy Father noted, “It is important that grandparents meet their grandchildren and that grandchildren meet with grandparents, because as Prophet Joel says in the scriptures, ‘grandparents seeing their grandchildren dream, and young people drawing strength from their grandparents, will go forward and prophesy’.”
The Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life Kevin Cardinal Farrell, expressed that the establishment of the Day of Grandparents and the Elderly “is the first fruits of the Amoris Laetitia, a gift to the whole Church that is destined to continue into the future.”
