The Second World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly is to be celebrated on 24 July 2022. The main theme is： “In Old age they will still bear fruit” (Ps. 92:15). This theme is an invitation for us to reconsider and value grandparents and the elderly, who are too often kept on the margins of families as well as civic and ecclesial communities, to which their experience of life and faith can make a significant contribution. Dialogues among the generations, especially between grandparents and grandchildren, should be promoted, particularly in the context of the synodal journey which the Church is already embarked on.
To facilitate the celebration of this annual event, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life of the Holy See has provided some pastoral tools (please visit the website of the said Dicastery at www.laityfamilylife.va). Pope Francis will on this occasion grant a Plenary Indulgence to grandparents and the elderly on the following conditions:
A. Basic Conditions:
A spirit detached from any sin, sacramental confession (within three weeks either before or after the performance of one of the works listed under Section B), Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions (may be satisfied by reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary).
B. Performance of one of the following Works:
(a) participating, with a true spirit of penance and charity, in the World Day solemn celebration presided over by the Holy Father in the Vatican Papal Basilica, or in one of the solemn functions that will be held throughout the world;
(b) devoting adequate time to actually or virtually visiting the elderly in need or in difficulty (such as the sick, the abandoned, the disabled or other similar cases);
(c) for the elderly sick who are unable to leave their homes and all those who are home-confined for a serious reason: if they, detaching themselves from any sins and intending to fulfill the three usual conditions as soon as possible, unite themselves spiritually to the sacred functions of the World Day, offering to the Merciful God their prayers, pains or sufferings of their lives, especially while the teaching of the Holy Father and the various celebrations are broadcast through the media.
The Plenary Indulgence may be applied as suffrage for the souls in Purgatory.
