Pope Francis invites us to care for the elderly

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 not the first time the Holy Father has chosen to visit a group of elderly people as part of his monthly visits – on January 15, 2017, he also visited the “Bruno Buozzi” and “Casa Iride” retirement homes.

Fr. Alexandre Awi Mello, Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, stated that “the fact that Pope Francis has chosen, once again, to meet the elderly is a sign: he invites us to do the same and to put at the center of our pastoral activities the care and hospitality of the elderly and all those who are frail.

It is a message that the Holy Father always reinforces, especially to young people. In all the encounters with the young, he does not fail to invite them to take care of their grandparents and, above all, to listen to them. Additionally, in his recent Post-Synodal Exhortation “Christus Vivit”, Pope Francis greatly encourages relationships between the young and old (cfr.  §§ 187 – 201). Without the latter generations, the young cannot dream!”