¡Gracias a Dios por el regalo de nuestros abuelos! Thank God for the gift of our grandparents! On July 26, the Church commemorates the parents of Mary, Saints Anne and Joachim. Although there is no explicit reference to them by name in the canonical Scriptures, from ancient tradition their identities have come down to us. In 2021, Pope Francis established the celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly on the fourth Sunday of July, near this liturgical memorial.
Nationwide, Grandparents Day is observed on the first Sunday in September. One is likely to find variations, therefore, in how Catholic parishes choose to mark the occasion. I say, “Does not the value of the role of grandparents in the life of the human family and, more specifically, their contribution to handing on the Faith to future generations, merit—at least—a ‘double day’ celebration?” In other words, let us celebrate grandparents this weekend and again in September!
Personally, I did not have the opportunity to know any of my biological grandparents. The last surviving of them, my mom's dad, died when I was about two and a half years old. I can remember attending his wake (or viewing, as we tended to call it back East), and I remember Mrs. Bense, a parishioner of our home church whose sons were buddies of my brothers, caring for me on the day of Grandpa’s funeral. Granted, that’s not a lot on which to base a relationship.
In any event, the stories that have been handed on by my family members, related to our grandparents, testify to the powerful impact they have on family life. Surely, my pastoral ministry has provided me with ever-increasing awareness of the importance of our interaction with those in advanced age to enhance our perspective on life and what it means to transmit wisdom to present and future generations.
Here are excerpts from the message of Pope Leo XIV, offered on this occasion within the jubilee year of hope:
In the Bible, God repeatedly demonstrates his providential care by turning to people in their later years. This was the case not only with Abraham, Sarah, Zechariah and Elizabeth, but also with Moses, who was called to set his people free when he was already eighty years old (cf. Ex 7:7).
The life of the Church and the world can only be understood in light of the passage of generations. Embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships. Instead, life is constantly pointing us toward the future. In the book of Genesis, we find the moving episode of the blessing given by the aged Jacob to his grandchildren, the sons of Joseph; his words are an appeal to look to the future with hope, as the time when God’s promises will be fulfilled (cf. Gen 48:8-20). If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom. How often our grandparents have been for us examples of faith and devotion, civic virtue and social commitment, memory and perseverance amid trials! The precious legacy that they have handed down to us with hope and love will always be a source of gratitude and a summons to perseverance.
From the Vatican, 26 June 2025 LEO PP. XIV
Related to this, next week I will announce the successor to Camille Horvath, our former pastoral associate who has contributed greatly to our attentiveness to the elder members of the Saint Mary community.
Let His Peace be with you,
Fr. Stephen
