Of the ten years of his pontificate, the 2014 meeting with the elderly in St. Peter’s Square was “one of the most beautiful moments”, said Pope Francis recently. It was he, who wanted to establish a World Day dedicated to all grandparents, to draw attention to a category all too often placed on the margins, remembering instead their value and encouraging actions in their favor. It is a goal maintained throughout the various editions of the Day, which now returns with its third edition on July 23, featuring a Mass celebrated by the Pope in St. Peter’s Square.

“His mercy is from age to age” (Lk 1:50) is the theme chosen for this year. This choice was intended to connect the Rome event to the great celebration of the World Youth Day in Lisbon (Aug. 1-6), and in other words to ideally put young and old ‘in dialogue’, as the Pope has always desired. This was pointed out to Vatican media by Gleison De Paula Souza, appointed Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life last November.

What does this theme mean?

The theme was chosen to be in tune with that of World Youth Day in Lisbon: Mary arose and went with haste, taken from Luke’s Gospel. Even the short passage “His mercy from age to age” is taken from Luke’s Gospel and is the end of the first part of the Magnificat, when Mary immediately goes to meet her elderly cousin Elizabeth after the Angel’s annunciation. Thus, it is a theme that highlights the importance of dialogue between generations, which is fundamental for perceiving and contemplating God’s merciful action on behalf of human beings. Indeed, dialogue between the elderly and the young helps to obtain a more complete vision of the way in which a more humane and fraternal society can be built.