03 August 2021
The Elderly
The Elderly at the center, all over the world
Celebrating the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly all over the world
"I invite you to celebrate this Day in every community and to visit grandparents and the elderly, those who are most alone" said Pope Francis after Sunday’s Angelus and all over the world young and old accepted his invitation and celebrated grandparents and the elderly.
From the first reports that reached the Dicastery, there have been many initiatives undertaken by bishops' conferences, dioceses and associations around the world on the occasion of the Day. Many of them have been mentioned on social media with the hashtag #IamWithYouAlways.
One particularly significant initiative was that of the Lisbon WYD promoter's committee, which invited young Portuguese to go on a mission and visit the elderly and give them the Pope's message.
In India, young people from many dioceses visited the elderly in their neighborhoods and filmed videos that were posted on the bishops' conference website.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) invited the archdioceses and dioceses to hold special events to mark the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
Many bishops, for example Card. Nichols, sent video messages on occasion of the Day.
In France, through an initiative of the Taizè Community and the Christian Movement of Retired Persons (MCR), a number of associations organized some festive moments getting both young and old involved.
In Peru, the bishops' conference announced a week dedicated to the elderly, while in Brazil, Pastoral da Pessoa Idosa got several thousand people involved in online and in-person meetings with the elderly.anziani.
All over the world, many young people decided to visit the elderly in nursing homes - those who suffered most from the pandemic - and celebrate the Day with them.
