Pope Francis asked the young pilgrims of WYD Lisbon 2023 and all those who are preparing to experience World Youth Day in their respective places of origin to visit their grandparents and the elderly before this great event, reminding them that no older adult must feel lonely.
The next WYD Lisbon 2023 will take place from August 1 to 6 and has as its theme: “ Mary got up and left without delay ”.
“Before setting out, go find your grandparents and pay a visit to an elderly person who is alone,” the Holy Father asks them in a message published by the Vatican this Thursday, June 15, for the Third World Day of Grandparents. and the Seniors, which will be held on Sunday, July 23.
“Your prayer will protect them and they will carry in their hearts the blessing of that meeting,” he added.
The Pontiff also notes that the elderly give the present a necessary past to build the future, and calls to honor them and not deprive ourselves of their company: “Let us not allow them to be discarded.”
For this reason, he invites young people “to move from imagination to making a concrete gesture to hug grandparents and the elderly.”
“Let’s not leave them alone, their presence in families and communities is valuable, it gives us the awareness of sharing the same heritage and of being part of a people in which our roots are preserved,” he adds.
In his message, the Pope also highlighted the importance of the elderly as “transmitters of belonging to the holy People of God”, both for the Church and for society in general.
The Holy Father renewed his invitation to all to celebrate the Third World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, “putting at the center the overflowing joy of a renewed encounter between young and old”.
The theme of this World Day, the Pope explained in his message, “refers to the meeting between the young Mary and her elderly relative Elizabeth”, emphasizing that “the Holy Spirit blesses and accompanies each fruitful meeting between different generations, especially between young people and seniors”.
“For the youngest, it is about going beyond that immediacy in which virtual reality is confined, which often distracts from concrete action; in the case of older people, it is about not emphasizing the forces that decline and not lament the missed chances. Let’s look forward”.