4th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly: how it was celebrated worldwide

Recalling the celebration of the 4^th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly after the Angelus of Sunday, 28 July, Pope Francis called everyone “to listen to the voice of the elderly who say, ‘Do not abandon me!’, and to answer, ‘I will not abandon you!’.” This is the spirit in which Christian communities all over the world have lived a day that is celebrated year after year in an increasing number of dioceses.

A day of encounter with the loneliest elderly

“We had called all the Conferences of Bishops – commented Gleison De Paula Souza, Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life – to genuinely experience the attitude of openness that our Holy Father very often encourages us to take, and to meet the loneliest elderly to allow them to live a day without loneliness. The first news we received show that this call has been welcomed in very different contexts and the tradition to celebrate the elderly is becoming meaningful in many parts of the world.”

From China to Panama, from Uganda to Portugal: celebrations around the world

Fides agency, for example, reported that the Chinese Catholic community lived this day very intensely. Visits to the elderly and celebrations dedicated to them took place in Nantang, Yongni, Guangzhou, Wenzhou and other parts of the country.

Many important shrines, such as the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Kampala, Aparecida in Brazil, and Knock in Ireland, on 28 July became a place of pilgrimage for many grandparents and elderly people. Many initiatives were also held to facilitate intergenerational dialogue.

As Pope Francis said after the Angelus: “Our future depends a great deal on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together.”

Echoing the words of the Holy Father – who reminded us how “the abandonment of the elderly is indeed a sad reality to which we must not grow accustomed” and that “for many of them, especially in these summer days, loneliness risks becoming a difficult burden to bear” – many initiatives have been organized in Europe and North America to visit the elderly and alleviate their loneliness.

Finally, the Archdiocese of Panama and some dioceses in Portugal have opted for social campaigns to invite parishes to join celebrations.

Rome: grandparents teach us the beauty of sharing

In Rome, many elderly people and grandparents took part in a special celebration, promoted by the Diocesan Office for the pastoral care of the elderly and the sick, under the auspices of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, in the parish of San Gioacchino, Jesus’ grandfather.

During the homely, His Excellency Monsignor Dario Gervasi, Auxiliary Bishop responsible for age and life care, recalling the Gospel passage about the multiplication of the loaves, said: “Grandparents are exactly the ones who teach us the beauty of sharing, and not only material things. The smile of a grandfather or a grandmother to a grandchild is loaves that multiply.”

Gabriella Gambino: we need to correct the widespread negative representation of old age

In an interview with Interris.it, Professor Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, underlined the need to correct the widespread negative representation of old age through a cultural and educational commitment that is crosscutting to all generations. It is a call to change perspective and learn how to grasp the value of grandparents and the elderly, who must be welcomed, cared for, but also accompanied along their life journey.

Here are some of the first pictures of the celebration that we received or were posted on social media. As soon as other pictures become available, we will add them to our gallery.