ROME – On Thursday the Vatican announced that Pope Francis has authorized the granting of plenary indulgences to those who participate in the upcoming World Day for Elderly and Grandparents later this month.
The World Day for Elderly and Grandparents was instituted by Pope Francis in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted the elderly and left many isolated from family and lonely as a result of social distancing and lockdown requirements.
In charge of organizing the event, scheduled for July 28, is the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, currently led by American Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
This year, on the occasion of the fourth edition of the event, the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary has offered plenary indulgences to those who participate “in order to increase the devotion of the faithful and for the salvation of souls,” according to a statement from the Penitentiary published July 18.
It was dated July 9 and signed by Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, as well as the regent, Bishop Krzysztof Józef Nykiel.
The full remission of the temporal consequences of a person’s sins after they have been absolved, indulgences are common during jubilee years, and are granted on other occasions of special significance as a special outpouring of God’s grace.
The indulgence, the statement said, is granted “to grandparents, the elderly and all the faithful who, motivated by a true spirit of penance and charity, will participate…in the various functions that will be held throughout the world, a Plenary Indulgence that may also be applied as a suffrage to the souls in purgatory.”
Faithful who wish to obtain an indulgence must fulfill the “usual conditions,” which include going to Confession in a spirit of true repentance, receiving the Eucharist and praying for the intentions of the pope.
Indulgences obtained by faithful, rather than being applied to oneself, may also be offered “as a suffrage” for souls in purgatory.
The Penitentiary in its statement said the indulgence is also offered to faithful to devote “adequate time” to visiting, either virtually or in person, elderly persons who are in need or who are experiencing difficulty, such as the sick, disabled, and lonely.
A plenary indulgence may also be obtained by elderly and sick persons themselves, as well as all those who are unable to leave their homes for serious reasons, but who spiritually unite themselves to the events of the World Day for Elderly and Grandparents, “provided that they detach themselves from any sins and intend to fulfill the three usual conditions as soon as possible.”
These individuals, to obtain the indulgence, are invited to offer their prayers, pain and suffering to God, “especially during the various celebrations which will be broadcast through the media.”
To assist faithful in obtaining an indulgence for the event, the Penitentiary urged priests to make themselves more available “in a ready and generous spirit” for Confession, should they be asked.
Seen as an important way of participating in events of particular spiritual importance or significance, indulgences will also be widely available during the upcoming Jubilee of Hope in 2025, with the Penitentiary offering faithful a series of different ways to obtain one during the Holy Year, most of which are associated with pilgrimages.
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Next week’s World Day of Elderly and Grandparents will carry the theme, “Do not cast me off in my old age,” taken from Psalm 71.
The Vatican in recent years has increased its efforts to engage and accompany elderly, offering special prayers on their behalf and advocating for an end to euthanasia and greater investment in palliative care, while calling for families to be closer to their elder members, and cities to be more attentive to their needs.
Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, in 2020 was also tapped to lead a government commission for the care of elderly as many were losing their lives to COVID-19.
Pope Francis himself has often stressed the importance of intergenerational ties, urging young people to spend time with their grandparents and other elderly persons in their lives.
In a set of pastoral materials issued for the July 28 World Day for Elderly and Grandparents, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life urged parishes to inform them of local initiatives for the event, and to promote their activities on social media with the hashtag “#elderlyandgrandparents.”
“Growing old is a sign of blessing,” the dicastery said in a set of pastoral guidelines for the event, and voiced hope that the occasion would foster “a fruitful dialogue between old and young.”
They suggested that parishes and dioceses focus their efforts for the day on celebrating Mass and visiting the elderly in their communities, bringing gifts or flowers, and sharing the pope’s message with them.
“The loneliness and abandonment of the elderly is not inevitable, rather the result of wrong choices that do not recognize the infinite dignity of each and every person,” the dicastery said, calling for the event to be “a day without loneliness.”
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