«His mercy is from age to age» (Lk. 1:50) is the theme chosen by the Holy Father for the III World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly and for the Message, that bears the date of the Feast of the Visitation and is made public today.

This year’s celebration dedicated to grandparents and the elderly will take place on Sunday, July 23, just days before the start of World Youth Day in Lisbon. The meeting between the young Mary and her elderly cousin Elizabeth – two women who carry within them a promise of the future – is at the center of both the message addressed to the young people leaving for WYD as well as the one dedicated by His Holiness to the grandparents and the elderly: “Mary’s visit and Elizabeth’s greeting open our eyes to the dawn of salvation: in their embrace, God’s mercy quietly breaks into human history amid abundant joy”.

Joining Pope Francis’s call, the Dicastery invites the dioceses, parishes, associations and communities all to celebrate the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly with a solemn Eucharistic celebration together with grandparents and the elderly and inviting young people to visit the lonely elderly in their communities; on the occasion of World Youth Day, then, the elderly are invited to pray especially for the young people to accompany them on their pilgrimage to Lisbon.

Some pastoral tools useful in the preparation of III World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly are available on the website of the Dicastery (www.laityfamilylife.va).