World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly - July 23rd
Today the Church celebrates the third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. The Church throughout the world observes the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly each year on the fourth Sunday in July, close to the feast of Jesus’ grandparents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Pope Francis instituted this Day in 2021 since, he believes, grandparents are often forgotten, yet they “are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the young.” This year Pope Francis has chosen as the theme: “His mercy is from age to age” (Lk 1:50), which expresses the links between Grandparents and the Elderly and the World Youth Day being held in Lisbon, Portugal between the 1st and 6th of August. Pope Francis, in his message for the World Day, says: “The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is mean to be a small but precious sign of hope … for the whole Church.” He reminds young people that “God wants young people to bring joy to the hearts of the elderly, as Mary did to Elizabeth, and gain wisdom from their experiences.” The full text of the message is available on the Vatican Website and provides useful reflections for those who are celebrated on the day and all members of the Church:
For the first time this year, the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted a special Plenary Indulgence for those who devote adequate time to visit, in person or virtually, through technology, their elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty, such as the sick, the abandoned and the disabled. The Indulgence is also granted to the sick elderly and to all those who, unable to leave their homes for a serious reason, will unite spiritually with the sacred services of World Day, offering to the Merciful God their prayers, their pain and the sufferings of their lives. The Indulgence is under the usual conditions (i.e. Sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff). Full details of the indulgence can be found here:
