The pastoral care of the Elderly: a priority for the Church in Europe

Publishing both the Holy Father's message for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly and the pastoral guidelines prepared by the Dicastery represented an opportunity for an online meeting with the heads of the pastoral care of the elderly of the European Bishops' Conferences.

People from more than 25 European countries participated, asking themselves how they could deepen the pastoral care of this part of the population whose numerical and ecclesial relevance is constantly increasing.

De Paula Souza: the elderly has now become an issue that cannot be ignored by the Church of Europe

In his introductory remarks, Gleison De Paula Souza, Secretary of the Dicastery, emphasized the need to build a network among those responsible for the pastoral care of the elderly, and he reiterated that "that of the elderly has now become an issue that cannot be ignored by the Church of Europe".

How to celebrate the III World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly on July 23rd 

Professor Gabriella Gambino, Under-Secretary of the Dicastery, spoke about the baptismal dignity of the elderly faithful, explaining that what we are called to carry out is not only pastoral care "for them", rather "with them".

The contribution by Fr. Luis Manuel Romero Sanchez of the Spanish Bishops' Conference was particularly significant. He described how - after participating in the first international congress on the pastoral care of the elderly - his country's bishops decided to devote more attention to this issue and published a document on the subject.

Ines Didier, from the WYD Lisbon organizing committee, then spoke about the link between the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly and World Youth Day.

In order to provide participants with concrete support for celebrating the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Vittorio Scelzo, the Dicastery's representative for the pastoral care of the elderly, explained the contents of the newly released pastoral kit.