The Vatican on Monday published Pope Leo XIV’s message for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which this year will be celebrated on July 26 with the theme “I Will Never Forget You.”
Reflecting on this theme, taken from a verse of the book of the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Father emphasized that “these are words that fill us with comfort and hope.” He recalled the “painful feeling of being forgotten,” something shared by many people, especially the elderly.
God’s love as a response to anonymity
In the face of this sense of abandonment, the Holy Father recalled that God’s love, which “forgets no one,” is also “an act of justice and a response to the anonymity in which human life all too often ends up lost.”
The pontiff turned his attention to elderly people who have been forgotten and who live in homes “where loneliness reigns” or in care facilities “where each person’s uniqueness risks being reduced to a bed number or an illness.”
He proposed the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly as an opportunity “to rediscover that the Church is called to be a mother to all and that at any age it is always possible to recognize ourselves as sons and daughters of God.”
He also invited this day to be “an inspiration for everyone, especially the young, to revive the beautiful custom of visiting their grandparents, the elderly members of the family, and even those who have no one to visit them.”
Leo said the Church “understands the suffering of her elderly members; she knows full well that they are all too often viewed through the lens of stereotypes and considered a burden.” He noted in particular the weakening of family ties and the abandonment of many elderly people by children forced to migrate or to fight in wars.
Recalling the words of Pope John Paul I, Leo stressed that we are the recipients “of undying love on the part of God. We know: He has always his eyes open on us, even when it seems to be dark. He is our father; even more he is our mother.” He added that even in old age “we do not cease to be sons and daughters; therefore, the invitation to return to the arms of God — whose love is both paternal and maternal — remains worthwhile at any age.”
‘It is never too late to begin turning to him’
He then noted that the final stage of life “can become the right time to begin or resume a spiritual life” and to encounter God anew.
The pope invited the elderly “not to feel embarrassed by the fragility that emerges” and to recognize that “we are always in need of one another and in need of attention and care.” To God, he said, “we can now turn with filial trust in prayer. It is never too late to begin turning to him.”
He also emphasized that advanced age can be a time to reflect on one’s vocation: “Do not be afraid of fragility! It is precisely this weakness that holds within itself a new potential that also illuminates the other stages of life.”
In this sense, he explained that when “we acknowledge our fragility, our hearts become open to supporting one another and to invoking the One who can grant what no human power can ensure: the profound reconciliation of hearts and, with it, true peace.”
A path toward renewal and peace
In conclusion, the pope stressed that it is possible to live old age as Christians, “fragile” yet at the same time “called.” He noted that a person can be “born anew in old age” and choose paths not of power but of reconciliation and peace.
Finally, he urged the elderly to join in prayer “that peace may soon come to the whole world,” so that a better future may be secured for their grandchildren.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
