The Holy Fathers message expanded on the theme chosen for this year’s world day which was taken from the Book of Psalms: “Do not cast me off in my old age.”
The decree states that the indulgence will also apply to “the faithful who dedicate adequate time to visit in person or virtually, through means of communication, elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty” such as the sick, abandoned and disabled on 23 July.
Speaking ahead of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be celebrated Sunday 24 July, the Holy Father said elderly men and women often have “a special sensitivity for care, for reflection and affection” that is sorely needed in today’s war-torn world
Pope Francis said the elderly should become “artisans of the revolution of tenderness”
through their gifts, wisdom, relationships and power of prayer, to set the world free from loneliness and the demon of war.
“Have I visited my grandparents, my elderly relatives, the older people in my neighborhood? Have I listened to them? Have I spent time with them?” Pope Francis has said Sunday 25 July in his homily marking the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
Writing to vulnerable Catholics, Pope Francis said that God is close to them and still has plans for their lives. “I was called to become the bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age, and thought I would not be doing anything new,” said the pope, in conjunction with World Day for Grandparents and the elderly. By Cindy Wooden, CNS
To express the closeness of God and of the Church to every older person, Pope Francis has chosen “I am with you always” from the Gospel of Matthew as the theme for the inaugural World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.