“I am with you always.” These comforting words from the Gospel of Matthew will be the theme of the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, instituted this year by Pope Francis, to be celebrated Sunday July 25, 2021.

The theme was announced today, April 20, by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

“The theme chosen by the Holy Father for this World Day,” the Vatican department said, “is I am with you always’ (cf. Mt 28:20) which is a way of expressing the closeness of the Lord and the Church to every older person, especially in these challenging pandemic times.

“’I am with you always,’ they also underscore, is also a promise of closeness and hope that young and old can mutually share. Not only are grandchildren and young people called upon to be present in the lives of older people, but older people and grandparents also have a mission of evangelisation, proclamation and prayer, and of encouraging young people in their faith.

In order to encourage the celebration of this World Day in the local churches and associations, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life will offer some pastoral tools that will be available on the website http://www.amorislaetitia.va as early as the middle of June.

Stay tuned to Exaudi’s continuing coverage of this World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.