A day for grandparents

RICHARD A. SOKERKA

This past Sunday, July 24, the Uni­ver­­sal Church marked the second World Day for Grand­parents and the Elderly. Estab­lished by Pope Francis in 2021, the observance is celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July, coinciding with the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents and Jesus’ grandparents, Ss. Joachim and Anne (Yes, Jesus had grandparents!).

Pope Francis said he instituted the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly because “grandparents are often forgotten, and we forget this wealth of preserving roots and passing on” what the elderly have received.

For the Holy Father, the importance of grandparents is personal. Prior to becoming pope, and frequently since then, he has cited his own grandmother, Rosa, as critical to his priestly vocation. “It was my grandmother who taught me to pray,” he said. “She taught me a lot about faith and told me stories about the saints.”

When he was a young seminarian, his nonna Rosa told him “the most important thing for a priest is to celebrate Mass,” and shared the story of another mother who advised her priest son “to celebrate Mass, every single Mass, as if it was your last.”

The Bergoglio family emigrated from the northern Italian region of Piedmont to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1929. Follow­ing the birth of Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, the future pope spent time each day in his grandparents’ home. He has also written about how he keeps a note from his nonna in his breviary.

This year, the Pope chose, “They shall bear fruit even in old age” from the Book of Psalms (92:15) as the theme for this special day. He tweeted that elderly “should be cared for like a treasure of humanity: they are our wisdom, our memory. It is crucial that grandchildren remain close to their grandparents, who are like roots from which they draw the sap of human and spiritual values.”

The Pope’s words certainly rang true for me on the special celebration day for grandparents. As the grandfather of six, Grace Elizabeth, Mitchell Alan, Jacob Andrew, Ryan William, Julia Rose, and Luke Andrew, they fill my life with joy every moment I spend with them. I was blessed to be there on the day each one of them was born and cherish watching them grow in wisdom and faith. With my retirement on the horizon, I look forward to strengthening my relationship with each of my grandchildren so they will always know and remember how deep their Pop-Pop’s love for them is, now and forever.