Pope Francis said he established a new World Day of Grandparents and Elderly for two major reasons: because of the neglect and isolation so many grandparents and elderly experienced worldwide during the COVID-19 health crisis and because of the important role they play in society.
He designated the fourth Sunday of July – July 25 this year – for this new commemoration. He chose the Sunday closest to the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Jesus' grandparents, for the new commemoration.
In addition, he permitted the granting of a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, for all those who participate in liturgical celebrations observing the new day, those who unite themselves spiritually to those celebrations if they are unable to participate in person and those who visit – in person or virtually – with their grandparents or other elderly who are in need.
Writing to his peers, older Catholics like himself, Pope Francis told them that God is close to them and still has plans for their lives.
“I was called to become the bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age, and thought I would not be doing anything new,” he said. The pope, who is 84, was elected when he was 76. “The Lord is always – always – close to us. He is close to us with new possibilities, new ideas, new consolations, but always close to us. You know that the Lord is eternal; he never, ever goes into retirement,” Pope Francis wrote in his message for the Church's first celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
“Think about it: what is our vocation today, at our age? To preserve our roots, to pass on the faith to the young and to care for the little ones," he wrote. “Never forget this. There is no retirement age from the work of proclaiming the Gospel and handing down traditions to your grandchildren. You just need to set out and undertake something new.”
This celebration is in addition to the special days that some countries, including the United States, already have to honor grandparents. The pope noted that most countries do not have a day devoted to grandparents. In the U.S., President Jimmy Carter set the first Sunday after Labor Day as Grandparents Day, designating it as a national holiday. This year, it will be observed on Sept. 12. The official flower for the day is the forget-me-not.
Previously, Pope Francis called grandparents “a treasure in the family.” He said the vocation of grandparents is linked to their vocation as apostles. He also called upon them to recognize how important their mission is in both the Church and society. In addition, he encouraged grandchildren and children to accept with gratitude the generous giving of their elders. And he encouraged grandparents and the elderly not to be afraid to undertake new challenges and to embrace opportunities to grow.
Recalling the words of Prophet Joel, “Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men will have visions,” (Joel 3:1) the pope said that the future of the world depends on the covenant between young and old because “who, if not the young, can take the dreams of the elderly and make them come true?”
For this to happen, “it is necessary that we continue to dream,” he said. “Our dreams of justice, of peace, of solidarity, can make it possible for our young people to have new visions; in this way, together, we can build the future.”
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