The fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated on Sunday, July 27, 2025, under the theme chosen by Pope Francis: “Blessed is the one who has not lost hope” (cf. Sir 14:2).
This day is a precious invitation to foster encounter, within families and faith communities alike. It calls us to look upon our elders with renewed eyes — to cherish them not only for what they have done, but also for what they continue to bring: presence, wisdom, and a light of hope for the generations to come.
As a proverb beautifully puts it, “Just because I’m an old apple tree doesn’t mean I give old apples.” This pearl of wisdom reminds us that the fruitfulness of the heart knows no age, and that every elderly person carries within them an invaluable human legacy.
In his message, Pope Leo XVI writes:
“The Book of Sirach calls blessed those who have not lost hope (cf. 14:2). Perhaps, especially if our lives are long, we may be tempted to look not to the future but to the past. Yet, as Pope Francis wrote during his last hospitalization, “our bodies are weak, but even so, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being there for one another, in faith, as shining signs of hope” (Angelus, 16 March 2025). We possess a freedom that no difficulty can rob us of: it is the freedom to love and to pray. Everyone, always, can love and pray.”
“Our affection for our loved ones – for the wife or husband with whom we have spent so much of our lives, for our children, for our grandchildren who brighten our days – does not fade when our strength wanes. Indeed, their own affection often revives our energy and brings us hope and comfort.”
The full message from Pope Leo XVI is available in English, French and Spanish.
Several tools are also offered to help deepen our reflection, prepare a celebration, or simply foster collective awareness. The Inter-vocational Center offers a dedicated meditation (in French only), while the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared various resources to help promote this day.
Let us remember that the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly was instituted on January 31, 2021, by Pope Francis. It is celebrated every year on the fourth Sunday of July, near the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus and parents of the Virgin Mary.