Pope to grandparents and elderly: God's loving eyes are upon you at all times
Pope Leo XIV released a message for the Sixth World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, themed “I will never forget you (Isa 49:15). He reminds the elderly that God never forgets anyone, offering comfort to those who feel lonely or reduced to a bed number. The Pope urges the young and all to visit grandparents and the elderly, urging the Church to act as a mother to all. He stresses that it is never too late to turn to God, and that old age can bring a new spiritual rebirth.
4 months ago
The Vatican released Pope Leo XIV’s message for the Sixth World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, to be celebrated on the fourth Sunday of July under the theme “I will never forget you” (Isa 49:15). The Pope emphasized that God’s love never forgets anyone, offering comfort to seniors who feel abandoned, and urging families, especially young people, to revive the habit of visiting their elders. He called the Church to act as a mother to all ages, affirmed that it is never too late to turn to God, and highlighted the spiritual potential of frailty and old age. Finally, he asked the elderly to join in prayer for peace for the world and for future generations. 1 2
Pope Leo XIV quoted Isaiah, noting that God “engraves our faces on the palms of His hands” and loves us more than a mother loves her child. He linked these verses to the common feeling among seniors of being forgotten or reduced to a “bed number” in care facilities. The Pope presented God’s unwavering love as a source of hope that counters this sense of abandonment. 1
The Holy Father invited everyone, particularly the young, to “revive the beautiful custom” of visiting grandparents and elderly relatives, including those who have no family. He urged that such visits convey the Pope’s affection and the Church’s maternal care. 2
Leo XIV described the World Day as an opportunity for the Church to be a mother to every person, reminding that at any age one remains a son or daughter of God. He cited Pope John Paul I, affirming that God’s eyes are always on us, even in darkness. 1 2
The Pope stressed that old age can be a time to begin or resume a genuine faith journey. He declared, “It is never too late to begin turning to Him,” and encouraged seniors not to fear fragility, which can become a source of new life and vocation. 2
Concluding his message, Leo XIV asked the elderly to join him in prayer for the coming of peace, so that their grandchildren may inherit a better world. He expressed gratitude for their daily prayers, especially the Rosary, and sent them a blessing of renewed faith, hope, and love. 1 2*
Examine the Catholic Church’s teaching on the dignity of the elderly
The Catholic Church teaches that the elderly possess a dignity that is intrinsic—grounded in being created in the image of God and ordered to eternal beatitude—and therefore does not diminish with physical decline. The Church also insists that the elderly must receive special respect, be integrated into family and community life, and be protected from loneliness, neglect, and social “exclusion,” because care for them is care for Christ.
Catholic teaching grounds the dignity of every human person in creation: the human person is made in the image and likeness of God and is destined for eternal beatitude. This means dignity is not measured by productivity, autonomy, health, or usefulness to others; it is rooted in what a person is before God.
The Catechism further explains that the human person is intrinsically ordered to God and fulfills his or her vocation through moral life and charity—again pointing to a destiny that persists through all ages.
So, when old age brings weakness, limitation, or dependency, the Church does not treat this as a reason to reduce dignity; rather, it calls the community to recognize that the person remains fully human and fully loved by God.
In Christian moral teaching, love of neighbor is not abstract. The Catechism teaches:
“Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect.”
This directly includes the elderly, at least insofar as aging can involve diminution or weakening (physically, psychologically, or socially). The Catechism then specifies what respect looks like in practice:
“Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.”
The Church also frames respect for persons as respect for fundamental rights flowing from the dignity intrinsic to the person, since the other is “another self.”
In short: the elderly deserve special respect and practical assistance—not pity that dehumanizes, and not neglect that erases them from ordinary life.
St. John Paul II’s Familiaris Consortio describes cultures where the elderly are treated with “unique veneration and great love” and, crucially, says that the elderly are not to be pushed away:
“Far from being outcasts from the family or merely tolerated as a useless burden, [the elderly] continue to be present and to take an active and responsible part in family life…”
Where cultures do the opposite, the result is “acute suffering” and spiritual impoverishment for families.
Familiaris Consortio also identifies a positive mission of the elderly:
“They carry out the important mission of being a witness to the past and a source of wisdom for the young…”
Even beyond the family, it stresses the Church’s pastoral duty to help people discover and make “good use of the role of the elderly” within both civil and ecclesial life.
The Church speaks not only about how we feel toward the elderly, but about what social structures should protect. Familiaris Consortio includes the explicit right of the elderly:
“the right of the elderly to a worthy life and a worthy death.”
This implies that honoring the elderly is not limited to private family affection; it includes public and institutional responsibility so that the elderly are not discarded.
Familiaris Consortio treats the elderly as a group “more in need” of assistance and action because old age can involve serious burdens. It describes how elderly persons may be obliged to live alone with inadequate means, and it names forms of suffering common in aging:
This is important for understanding “dignity” concretely: the Church’s respect for the elderly includes efforts to remove conditions that crush dignity from the outside (neglect, isolation, abandonment, and structures that treat old age as disposable).
Recent papal teaching from Pope Leo XIV emphasizes that elderly people should be regarded as signs of hope—especially in societies tempted to marginalize them.
Pope Leo XIV calls the Church to help elderly persons experience “liberation, especially from loneliness and abandonment,” warning against the growing habit of marginalizing and forgetting the elderly.
He also frames old age in a Jubilee spirit of renewed care: parishes and ecclesial groups should become protagonists through:
In a letter on pastoral care for the elderly, Pope Leo XIV (through the Holy Father’s message conveyed by the Secretary of State) links this to the Christian “value of weakness,” noting that the fragility prolonged by increased life expectancy poses the question of the meaning of frail years—and answers it theologically.
He teaches that fragility:
This is not romanticizing suffering; it is insisting that weakness does not erase dignity. Instead, it reveals a dimension of the human person—interdependence and the need for grace—that often becomes most visible in old age.
Pope Leo XIV also addresses the risk of generational conflict and “ageism” (accusing the elderly of taking up resources or not making room for the young). He calls the elderly “a gift” and “a blessing to be welcomed,” and he urges a healthier understanding of fragility as part of creation.
He stresses the missionary and evangelizing character of pastoral care for older persons—especially when they are alone and discarded:
“Where elderly people are alone and discarded, this will mean bringing them the good news of the Lord’s tenderness, to overcome, together with them, the darkness of loneliness…”
And the goal is explicit:
“May no one be abandoned! May no one feel useless!”
On the practical level, in an apostolic journey reflection, Pope Leo XIV directly warns:
“Let us not allow loneliness and abandonment to become the norm in the lives of older adults.”
He also gives a relational model: grandparents should not be left alone, and care should move in both directions (young caring for elderly, and elderly having previously cared for the young).
Bringing these teachings together, the dignity of the elderly is honored through both attitudes and actions:
Catholic teaching on the elderly is consistent and demanding: dignity does not depend on youth, health, or productivity; rather it flows from being created in God’s image and ordered to eternal beatitude. Therefore, the Church teaches “special respect” for those whose lives are weakened, calls families and societies to protect the elderly from neglect and loneliness, and presents old age as a genuine season of hope—one that can teach the community how to love, pray, and persevere toward God.