THE THEME CHOSEN BY POPE FRANCIS WAS: ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO HAS NOT LOST HOPE’.
Newsroom(12/02/2025 17:53, Gaudium Press) The Vatican has announced the theme for the fourth World Day of Grandparents and Older People, which this year will be celebrated on July 27. According to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the theme chosen by Pope Francis was: ‘Blessed is he who has not lost hope’.
Explaining the Pontiff’s choice of this theme, the Roman Dicastery said in a statement that “the words, taken from the book of Ecclesiasticus, express the beatitude of the elderly and indicate in the hope placed in the Lord the path to a Christian and reconciled old age”.
Reflect on how the presence of grandparents and the elderly
This year, following the Jubilee of Hope, this celebration will be an opportunity to reflect on how the presence of grandparents and the elderly can become a sign of hope in every family and ecclesial community. In addition, the celebration of this day will follow the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly, scheduled for the period between May 30 and June 1.
Reinforcing Pope Francis’ invitation to celebrate the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly in each diocese, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life urged that the celebrations on Sunday, July 27, be dedicated to the elderly, promoting visits and moments of encounter between the generations.
World Day of Grandparents and Older People
Established by Pope Francis in 2021, the World Day of Grandparents and Older People is celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July. This year’s theme for the celebration is ‘From generation to generation, his mercy’.
According to the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, “with the World Day of Grandparents and Older People, the Holy Father invites us to become aware of the importance of the elderly in the life of society and our communities, and to do so, not in a one-off way, but in a structural way.” (EPC)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
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