Pope Leo echoed a few perfect messages as he joined the elderly on Grandparents Day, celebrated close to the feast of St Joachim and St Ann, grandparents of Jesus. The painful feeling of being forgotten is, unfortunately, shared by many people, and among them are quite a few elderly people. Leo warns that the elderly can become invisible as they age, becoming isolated in their homes or becoming just a bed number or an illness in a care home. He encouraged everyone to make a real human connection, not just a digital one. The digital culture multiplies connections and offers new opportunities for interaction; yet, the human heart retains an irrevocable need for genuine closeness. Leo encouraged young people to revive the beautiful custom of visiting their grandparents, elderly family members and even those who have no one to visit them. All people are in need of one another, the pope said, and embracing this need is a strength that can become an invitation not to resort to the ways of arrogance and power to ensure human coexistence, but to the ways of reconciliation and true peace. Pope Leo ended his message by saying ‘In this time, so harshly marked by the violence of war and social unrest, many wonder what the world in which their grandchildren will grow up will be like. I urge you, dear friends, to join me in praying earnestly that peace may soon come to the whole world.’
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