A meeting with the elderly

Today in Rome, an initiative of the Pontifical Council for the Family called a day dedicated to the elderly was celebrated.  Present in Saint Peter's Square were tens of thousands of elderly and grandparents from numerous countries, accompanied by other members of their families.

This meeting, called The Blessing of Long Life, began at 8:30am with a presentation titled The Path of the Elderly in 5 Stories from the Bible, 10 Words and a Story Worth Telling.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis arrived in the Square at 9:30 and began a dialogue with the elderly who were present, before the celebration of the Mass which began at 10:30.  At the invitation of Pope Francis, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI was also present for the dialogue and for the Mass this morning.

After having responded to the questions posed by the elderly, the Holy Father shared the following discourse with those who were present.

Remarks of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the encounter with the elderly

in Saint Peter's Square

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Thank you to all of you who have come!  And thank you for the joyous welcome: today is your feast, our feast!  I want to thank Monsignor Paglia and all those who prepared this meeting.  I especially wish to thank the Pope emeritus Benedict XVI for his presence.  I have said many times before that I appreciate the fact that he lives in the Vatican because it's like having a wise grandfather in the house.  Thank you!

I have heard the witnesses of a few of you who have described experiences which are common to many of the elderly and to grandparents.  But there was one that was different: the brothers who came from Qaraqosh, who escaped violent persecution.  Let's say a special thank you to them!  It is very good to see that you have come here today: this is a gift for the Church.  We offer you our support, our prayer and some concrete help.  Violence against the elderly is inhumane, like violence against children.  But God never abandons us, he is always with you!  With his help, you are already and you will continue to be the keepers of history for your people, and also for us, for the great family of the Church.  Thank you!

These brothers are witnesses to the fact that even in the midst of the most difficult trials, the elderly who have faith are like trees that continue to bear fruit.  And this is true also in the most ordinary of situations, where there can also be other temptations, and other forms of discrimination.  We heard some of that in other testimonials.

Old age is especially a time of grace in which the Lord renews his call: he calls us to care for and to transmit the faith, he calls us to pray, especially to intercede; he calls us to be close to those who are in need ... The elderly, grandparents have a special ability to understand the most difficult situations: a wonderful ability!  When they pray for these situations, their prayers are strong and powerful!

To grandparents who have received the blessing of seeing the children of their children (cf Ps 128:6), is given a special task: to transmit the experience of life, the history of a family, of a community, of a people; to simply share their wisdom, and their faith, the most precious inheritance!  Blessed are those families who have grandparents in their lives!  The grandfather is twice a father, and the grandmother is twice a mother.  In those countries where religious persecution has been cruel, for example in Albania, where I was visiting last Sunday, in those countries it was up to the grandparents to make sure that the little children were baptized in secret, and it was up to them to pass on the faith.  Good for them!  They were very brave in the face of persecution and have maintained the faith in those countries!

Not all of the elderly, the grandfathers and the grandmothers have families who can welcome them in their homes.  It's good therefore that we have homes for the elderly ... if they truly are homes and not prisons!  They are for the elderly, not for other people!  They should never become institutions where the elderly are forgotten, hidden or neglected.  I feel particularly close to the many elderly who live in such institutions, and I think with gratitude about all those who go to visit with them and to take care of them.  Homes for the elderly should be the lungs of the people in a country, in a neighbourhood, in a parish; they should be the sanctuaries of humanity where the elderly and the weak are cared for and protected like big brothers and big sisters.  It is so good to go in search of the elderly!  Look at our children: sometimes they are so listless and sad; go find an elderly person, and become joyous!

However, there is also the reality of the abandonment of the elderly: how many times we discard older people with attitudes that are akin to a hidden form of euthanasia! The culture of discarding human beings hurts our world. We discard children, young people and older people under the pretence of maintaining a balanced economic system the centre of which is no longer the human person, but money. We are all called to counter this culture of poisonous waste!

We Christians, together with all people of good will, are called to patiently build a more diverse, more welcoming, more humane, more inclusive society, that does not need to discard the weak in body and mind. On the contrary we need a society which measures its success on how the weak are cared for.

As Christians and as citizens, we are called to envision, with imagination and wisdom, ways of dealing with this challenge. A people who does not take care of grandparents, does not treat them well, has no future: such a people loses its memory and  its roots. But beware: you too have the responsibility to keep alive these roots in yourself with prayer, the reading of the Gospel and  the works of mercy. It is only is such a manner that we will remain as living trees, that even in old age will not stop bearing fruit.