The Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated on 23 July 2023 (Sunday) with the theme, “His mercy is from age to age” (Lk1:50). The theme reminds us that God’s mercy is manifested in history through the testimonies of those who, as elders, have experienced it and passed it on to their children and grandchildren. This year, the celebration for grandparents and the elderly happens to be closely related to the World Youth Day to be held in Lisbon from 1 to 6 August. Thus, in his Message for the elderly, Pope Francis invites them to pray for and bless the youth who will be participating in the WYD, and to young people, he urges them to visit and listen to the grandparents and the elderly in their community.
The Apostolic Penitentiary has announced that, on the occasion of the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis will grant a Plenary Indulgence to the following faithful, under the usual conditions (Sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayers in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) —
(1) grandparents, the elderly and all the faithful who, motivated by a true spirit of penance and charity, participate in the solemn celebration that the Holy Father Francis will preside over in the Vatican Papal Basilica, or in the various functions that will be held throughout the world;
(2) the faithful who devote a sufficient period of time to visit the elderly who are in need or in difficulty, such as the sick, the abandoned, the disabled;
(3) all those who, unable to leave their homes for serious reasons, unite themselves spiritually with the sacred services on this occasion (especially while the various celebrations are being broadcast through the media), offering to the Merciful God their prayers, and the pains and sufferings of their lives.
