{"id":1155,"date":"2021-02-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natixis.ezine.intercountry.com\/?p=1155"},"modified":"2021-02-08T12:59:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T11:59:16","slug":"pope-sets-date-to-honor-forgotten-grandparents-and-elders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/natixis.ezine.intercountry.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/04\/pope-sets-date-to-honor-forgotten-grandparents-and-elders\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope sets date to honor ‘forgotten’ grandparents and elders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Level : Intermediate<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VATICAN CITY (AP) \u2014 Pope Francis has established an annual date to honor grandparents and other elders, lamenting that they are often forgotten despite the wisdom<\/span> they have to offer society. <\/p>\n

Francis on Sunday announced that every year, on the fourth Sunday of July, the Roman Catholic Church will pay tribute to older adults who have “thoughts and words of wisdom<\/span>” to offer. <\/p>\n

This year, Francis will celebrate a special Mass in honor of them on the evening of July 25, pandemic restrictions permitting, the Vatican said.
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In customary Sunday noon remarks, Francis noted that each year on July 26, the church honors Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary. <\/p>\n

Grandparents, Francis said, transmit “life and faith” experiences to the young.<\/p>\n

The pope, who is 84 and a frequent booster of grandparents in his remarks for their value to society, cited the “thoughts and words of wisdom<\/span>” of older adults. <\/p>\n

“Their voice is precious because they sing the praises of God and preserve the roots<\/span> of peoples,” Francis said from the Apostolic Palace Library instead of from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to discourage crowds from gathering<\/span> in the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

“They remind us that old age is a gift, and that grandparents are the ring linking generations, to transmit to young people the experience of life and faith,” the pope said.<\/p>\n

“Grandparents, so many times, are forgotten, and we forget this richness of safeguarding and transmitting roots<\/span>,” Francis said.<\/p>\n

“It’s important that grandparents encounter grandchildren and grandchildren encounter grandparents,” Francis said. He added that “grandparents will dream, will have great desires, in regards to grandchildren, and the young, taking strength<\/span> from grandparents, will go forward.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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