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National Grandparents Pilgrimage to Knock

National Grandparents Pilgrimage

The National Grandparents Pilgrimage will once again be celebrated on the 24th of July together in Knock shrine.  The pilgrimage coincides with the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

In February 2022 Pope Francis announced that the grandparents’ day, will be an opportunity to reflect on verse 15 from Psalm 92: “In old age they will still bear fruit.”

The theme “intends to emphasize how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for ecclesial communities”. 

The theme is an invitation to reconsider and value grandparents and the elderly who are too often kept on the margins of families, civil and Church communities.  Grandparents experience of life and faith can contribute to the building up of societies that are capable of dreaming of a future based on greater solidarity.

 

Pope Francis established the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in 2021. The day takes place annually on the fourth Sunday of July, on or close to the July 26 Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus.

The Vatican’s laity, family, and life office said that the invitation to listen to the wisdom of the elderly is significant in 2022 given the synodal journey the Church has undertaken.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life said it invites Catholic parishes, dioceses, associations, and communities around the world to celebrate the elderly and grandparents on July 24.