World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is celebrated on Sunday, July 24, 2022

The second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is celebrated on Sunday, July 24, 2022. The theme chosen by the Holy Father for the occasion is "In old age they will still bear fruit" (Ps 92:15).

In his official message, Pope Francis invites everyone to celebrate this day so that we ensure “no one lives this day in loneliness.”

Pope Francis tweeted, “Dear Grandparents and Elderly, we are called to be artisans of the revolution of tenderness! Let us do so by growing in our knowledge and use of the most valuable instrument we have: prayer!”

Speaking on the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly 2022, Card. Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, noted that “With the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, the Holy Father invites us to become aware of the relevance of the elderly in the life of societies and our communities.”

The Apostolic Penitentiary has announced Indulgence on this same day to the faithful who devote adequate time to visit, in presence or virtually, through the media, their elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty (such as the sick, the abandoned, the disabled).

This new worldwide celebration in the Universal Church calendar is a momentous achievement for Grandparents and the Elderly and will hopefully reassure them that they are loved and that they are a gift both to society and the Church. 

Pope Francis has established throughout the Church the celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly in 2021 on the fourth Sunday of July, around the feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the “grandparents” of Jesus.