Likewise, he stated that “in the face of this reality, families and the ecclesial community are called to be on the front line in promoting the culture of encounter, to create spaces to share, to listen, to offer support and affection: this is how the love of the Gospel.”
He specified that loneliness “is also an irreducible condition of human existence, which manifests itself particularly in old age,” while ensuring that “the prayer of the psalmist is the prayer of each one of us, the prayer of the heart of every Christian who turns to the Father and trusts in his consolation.”
Cardinal Kevin Farrell highlighted that in this year dedicated to prayer in view of the Jubilee of 2025, “the celebration of the IV World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly takes on an even deeper and broader meaning. “It invites us to build together — grandparents, grandchildren, young people, the elderly, members of the same family — the broader ‘we’ of the ecclesial communion.”