Credit: Rome Reports
Pope Francis has invited 6,000 grandparents and their grandchildren to a meeting at the Vatican on 27 April at 9:30am. The pope will bless and dedicate them to the event titled “The caress and the smile.”
The event aims to focus attention on the generations the Vatican says are most in need of help: children and the elderly.
“Because these two generations, in their two extremes, are the two generations that cannot live without the help of others,” said Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
The challenges each generation faces will be addressed, and several grandparents and grandchildren will deliver testimonies.
“Helping elderly people who are alone, keeping them company even if it is just a phone call, makes me feel that I am useful at my age,” said Maria Soli, a 90-year-old woman who went to live in community to fight off her loneliness.
“Sometimes we get carried away by melancholy, resentment and sadness. We also feel the need to contribute to prevent this crisis from being wasted, to lead humanity to a better future, with less selfishness and confrontation,” she explained.
In his messages on the elderly, Pope Francis has referred to them as “victims of the throwaway culture.”
The goal of this initiative is to combat this culture.
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