The Elderly
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is busy building “a Church that challenges the throw-away culture with the overflowing joy of a new embrace between young and old!” (Pope Francis, General Audience, March 11, 2015).
For this reason, it fosters and supports the promotion of a pastoral care of the elderly that knows how to enhance their peculiar vocation in the Church, starting from the transmission of the faith to the youngest, from the preservation of their roots and from what can be considered the elderly’s very true specific mission: interceding in prayer.
In 2020, the Dicastery sponsored the 1st International Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Elderly entitled "The Richness of Many Years of Life," the proceedings of which were published in an e-book downloadable for free from this website.
Since 2021, the Dicastery has been promoting the celebration of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
News
Elderly
Revisiting the Holy Father’s words on the elderly
In some countries around the world, 2 October—the liturgical commemoration of the Guardian Angels—is celebrated as Grandparents’ Day. This is a good opportunity to listen once again to some of the ...
Colombia
Address of Vittorio Scelzo at the meeting of “Pastoral del Adulto Mayor” of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia
“Your reflection on the role of the elderly in society and in the ecclesial community is a valuable service for the whole Church.” With these words Vittorio Scelzo, an offical of the Dicastery in ...
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Elderly
La visita del Papa al Villaggio Emanuele
Last Friday, Pope Francis visited – as part of the Mercy Friday pastoral initiative – the “Villagio Emanuele” in the Roman district of Bufalotta, an institution for people with Alzheimer’s. This is ...
