Church Gears Up for Third World Day of Grandparents and Elderly, Vatican News Reports

C. Rubini CTC, Vatican News

The Church is preparing to celebrate the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on Sunday, July 23, 2023, commemorating the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anna with the theme “There mercy endures from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50).

The Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life said in a statement on Thursday that the Church is preparing to celebrate the Third World Day for Grandparents and Elders on Sunday, July 23. The Church observes this day on the fourth Sunday of July every year in conjunction with the feast of Saints Joachim and Anna, the grandparents of Jesus. The day was established by Pope Francis in 2021 because he believes that grandparents, although often forgotten, are “the link between generations that pass on life experience and faith to young people”.

‘His mercy is from generation to generation’

Pope Francis has chosen the theme for this year’s World Day of Grandparents and Elderly People, “His mercy is throughout the generations” (Luke 1:50), expressing its connection with World Youth Day, which will be held in Lisbon, Portugal from August 1 to 6, 2023. The theme of World Youth Day is “Mary got up and went with haste” (Luke 1:39). The Dicastery explained that Mary, a young woman setting out to visit her elderly servant Elizabeth, proclaims the theme aloud in the hymn and reveals the power of the alliance between young and old.

Announcing that the Holy Father will preside over the Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Global Day, DiCasity invited parishes, dioceses, organizations and ecclesiastical communities around the world to celebrate the day in their own pastoral contexts.