World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly - Photo:canva.com
Following the Angelus on the 31st January 2021, Pope Francis announced World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, a day to be celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. Following the Pope's announcement, a Vatican News staff reporter stated that it is necessary to keep building relationships between the elderly and young people. The elderly are one of Pope Francis' pontificate priorities.
In his special message ahead of the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly to be celebrated on Sunday 25th July, Pope Francis repeats the words of Jesus to the disciples before he ascended into heaven; 'I am with you always' (Mt 28:20). The Pope says: 'I am with you always are also the words that I, as Bishop of Rome and an elderly person like yourselves, would like to address to you on this first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly.' Pope Francis acknowledges the immense difficulties imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic on the elderly in so many ways and highlights the gift of faith as a source of hope. The Pope speaks of the tradition that an angel appeared to console Joachim in his time of sorrow as he lamented that being without children, he and his wife Anne were very alone. The angel appeared to console Joachim and assure him that God had heard his prayers.
Pope Francis speaks of his own experience; '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. 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 also invites the elderly to draw upon rich personal resources that had helped them face challenges in the past and urges all people to continue to support the elderly.
In his 2020 Encyclical letter on Fraternity and Social Friendship Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis says the elderly 'offer a unique contribution to the common good through their remarkable life stories.' #98. This theme is echoed in his message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. The Pope says, 'At this crucial moment in history, you have a renewed vocation. I want to tell you that you are needed to help build, in fraternity and social friendship, the world of tomorrow: the world in which we, together with our children and grandchildren, will live once the storm has subsided. All of us must take an active part in renewing and supporting our troubled societies.' Pope Francis speaks of his own experience; '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. 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.'
John O'Donohue in 'Benedictus; A Book of Blessings' offers this blessing for the elderly: 'May the light of your soul mind you. May all your worry and anxiousness about your age be transfigured. May you be given wisdom for the eyes of your soul, to see this as a time of gracious harvesting…May you have great dignity and a sense of how free you are…Above all, may you be given the wonderful gift of meeting the eternal light that is within you. May you be blessed.'
Sr Caroline Vaitkunas RSM is a team member of the Columban Peace, Ecology & Justice office in Australia.
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