Sunday 24 July 2022 will be the second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

Last year, Pope Francis announced a new celebration in honour of all grandparents and the elderly.  This special day is now set to become a tradition, and the second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated on 24^th July 2022 (the fourth Sunday in July close to the feast of Sts Joachim & Anne).

The theme chosen by the Holy Father for the occasion is “In old age they will still bear fruit” (Psalm 92:15) and intends to emphasize how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for ecclesial communities.  The theme is also an invitation to reconsider and value grandparents and the elderly who are too often kept on the margins of families, civil and ecclesial communities. Their experience of life and faith can contribute, in fact, to building societies that are aware of their roots and capable of dreaming of a future based on greater solidarity.

The invitation to listen to the wisdom of the years is also particularly significant in the context of the synodal journey that the Church has undertaken.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has issued a resources that can be used for the day.  The material includes a prayer, liturgy notes, a message to grandparents and the elderly and resources for social media which can accessed here: II Giornata mondiale dei Nonni e degli Anziani (laityfamilylife.va)

The post World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly 2022 first appeared on Archdiocese of Wellington.