Hope chosen as theme to celebrate grandparents and elderly during Jubilee

By Justin McLellan, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Blessed are those who have not lost hope” is the theme for the fifth World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly which will be observed in the Catholic Church July 27.

The theme, announced by the Vatican Feb. 4, is taken from the Book of Sirach as part of its moral instruction to the Jewish faithful.

The theme expresses “the blessedness of the elderly and points to the hope placed in the Lord as the way to a Christian and reconciled old age,” the Vatican said in its announcement.

Particularly during the Holy Year 2025, the world day “seeks to be an opportunity to reflect on how the presence of grandparents and elderly people can become a sign of hope in every family and ecclesial community,” it continued.

The motto for the current Jubilee, selected by Pope Francis, is “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, which organizes the world day, invited every diocese to organize local celebrations for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly July 27, “promoting visits and occasions for encounter between generations.”

Pope Francis instituted the world day to be celebrated in the church on the fourth Sunday of July, near the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anna — Jesus’ grandparents.

Last year, the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican court charged with granting indulgences, announced that grandparents, the elderly and all the faithful who attend Mass or other prayer services as part of the day’s celebration could receive a plenary indulgence.

Additionally, the indulgence could apply to those who “devote adequate time to actually or virtually visiting their elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty,” such as those who are sick, lonely or disabled, the Vatican said.