2023-07-19 17:32:00
July 19, 2023 / 10:32 a.m.
Next Sunday, July 23, the III World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated, which this year has the motto “His mercy extends from generation to generation”.
On the occasion of this event, Pope Francis will preside over a Mass at 10:00 am (local time) inside the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican.
More than 6,000 people will participate in this Eucharistic celebration, including many elderly people from Italy with their families.
As detailed by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, at the end of Holy Mass five older people —representing the five continents— will symbolically deliver the WYD Pilgrim Cross to five other young people who are leaving for Lisbon, as a symbol of the transmission of the faith “from generation to generation”.
This gesture represents the commitment that the elderly and grandparents have accepted, at the invitation of the Holy Father, to pray for the young people who are participating in World Youth Day in Lisbon 2023.
Also, to all the participants in the celebration in San Pedro, the diocese of Rome will deliver the prayer of the Third World Day and the message of Pope Francis to grandparents and the elderly.
The Vatican renews the invitation to celebrate this Day in all the dioceses of the world, to celebrate a Mass dedicated to the elderly and to visit the elderly who are alone. It should be remembered that this day plenary indulgence is granted to those who perform these gestures.
For its part, the Brazilian Episcopal Conference will celebrate a Mass with the elderly in the Sanctuary of Aparecida and the Canadian Episcopal Conference has released a video inviting young people to visit the elderly in residences.
Likewise, the Local Organizing Committee of WYD in Lisbon joined the invitation of Pope Francis and has promoted the initiative “Dear grandparents” to promote a prayer chain of grandparents and elders who accompany the young people who go to Lisbon.
They have also launched a challenge on social networks encouraging all young people to visit their grandparents before WYD and take a photo or video with them.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú is a Spanish journalist, correspondent for ACI Prensa in Rome and the Vatican, with four years of experience in religious information.
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