In a time when older populations are often at particular risk of isolation or abandonment, Pope Leo XIV has chosen a poignant theme for the upcoming Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly: “I will never forget you.”
The theme, taken from Isaiah 49:15 is meant “to be a message of consolation and hope for all grandparents and the elderly, especially those who live in solitude or who feel forgotten,” the Holy See Press Office stated Feb. 10. “At the same time, it is a reminder to families and ecclesial communities not to forget them, recognizing in them a valuable presence and a blessing.”
The office stated that the theme also aims to underscore “how God’s love for every person is never lacking, even in the fragility of old age.”
Pope Francis inaugurated the special day in 2021 and since then it has been observed on the fourth Sunday of July. This year, it falls on the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the patron saints of grandparents.
The Vatican encourages local churches, associations, and religious communities around the world to find fitting ways to celebrate the day, and the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life will soon release specific pastoral resources to help, the release adds.
Pope Leo has spoken on several occasions about the importance of accompanying the elderly, the value of intergenerational relationships, and the blessing of old age.
“If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom,” the Pontiff said in his July 2025 message for the Fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. He urged the faithful to regularly visit the elderly and to create “networks of support and prayer with them.”
In October 2025, the Holy Father said in an address that the elderly are “a blessing to be welcomed” and also urged evangelizing to them.
He said that if an elderly person has been left behind, the faithful must share with them “the good news of the Lord’s tenderness, to overcome, together with them, the darkness of loneliness, the great enemy of the lives of the elderly. May no one be abandoned! May no one feel useless!”
Especially as states and countries continue to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, the need to cultivate relationships and support for those in nursing homes, assisted living homes, and hospitals becomes even more pressing. In 2024, the average age of terminally ill people who were euthanized through Canada’s “Medical Aid in Dying” program was 78. While advocates of physician-assisted suicide imply or outright argue that ending one’s life in old age is better than living with a so-called lower “quality of life,” many ministries are countering this by spreading the truth that all human life is inherently valuable and worthy of love.
One such ministry that continues to grow is the Rosary Team, a Colorado-based ministry that prays the rosary weekly with residents of nursing homes. According to a Zeale News report on the ministry, the weekly prayer is an opportunity to grow in hope, community, and joy, for both volunteers and residents alike.
According to the report, a resident named Audrey once thanked the volunteers simply for their presence.
“Thank you for coming today,” she told them, “so that I don’t have to pray alone tonight.”
As the next World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly approaches, the call to evangelize and the reality that God continues to care for all people remains prominent. The theme is situated within Isaiah 49:13-15, which underscores the call to be joyful, take consolation in the Lord, and trust that He remembers His people and will not forsake them. The theme Pope Leo chose is especially fitting given the full context of verse 15:
“Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.”