In the June 8 speech he made at the public audience, Pope Francis, in criticizing the obsession of trying to stay forever young in appearance, he said people must not hide or try to get rid of their wrinkles. He wondered why the elderly seem unappreciated and seen as useless when they carry so much wisdom about life and can open the door to God's tenderness. He said further: “"Wrinkles are a sign of experience, a sign of life, a sign of maturity, a sign of having made a journey. Do not touch them to become young, that your face might look young. What matters is the entire personality; it's the heart that matters, and the heart remains with that youth of a good wine — the more it ages the better it is. Technology has stepped in to help so that, while people await the defeat of death, we can keep the body alive with medicine and cosmetics which slow down, hide, erase old age. So much makeup, so many surgical interventions to appear young! The Pope quoted the Italian actress Anna Magnani, who said, "Please don't retouch my wrinkles. It took me so long to earn them." Pope Francis continued “There is a mission proper to old age, which is to help show people the hope and love that come with being destined for eternity in God and journeying toward one's final destination. The kind of tenderness grandparents show their grandchildren opens the door toward understanding God's tenderness. The elderly are the messengers of the future, the elderly are the messengers of tenderness, the elderly are the messengers of the wisdom of lived experience. Let us move forward and watch the elderly."
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