World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

Pope Francis established a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly which took place for the first time on Sunday 25 July 2021 and for the second time on Sunday 24 July 2022.

The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly was celebrated for the third time in 2023 on Sunday 23 July – the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is:

“His mercy is from age to age” (Luke 1:50).

The Catholic Grandparents Association has been at the forefront in campaigning for a greater recognition of Grandparents for their role and vocation in passing on their faith to the next generation. The announcement of a new Church-wide celebration for Grandparents and the elderly came in answer to our prayerful request to the Holy Father Pope Francis.

This new worldwide celebration in the Universal Church calendar is a momentous achievement for Grandparents and the Elderly and will hopefully reassure them that they are loved and that they are needed.

To learn more about how you can celebrate next year's event, visit our website. We have a whole suite of resources and ideas for how you can make this a wonderful celebration for all.

Prayer For The Third World Day For Grandparents And The Elderly 2023

Virgin Mary, Mother of faith and hope, an example for this humanity bent by indifference, make me as willing as You to accept the will of God, to magnify and praise His Mercy. Mary, Mother of fortitude, you who knows my heart, do not allow me to become discouraged. I confidently surrender my life into your hands. Heal my wounds. May your tenderness accompany me on the way. Your presence, Mother of love, brings us to experience the joy of seeing our families united.

Help me to transmit the tenderness and Love of God to the grandchildren and youth so that, in addition to praying for them, we can pray with them.

Mary, may the gift of the Holy Spirit intercede for me: sustain my weakness; breathe into my heart the consolation that I may leave traces of faith among the young, bearing witness to the beauty of life, knowing that life has a limit and that beyond it lies before us our Father's embrace. Amen.