Nuncio, Defence Minister to lead celebration of the elderly on July 27

Accra, Selikem Norfegali – The Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Archbishop Julian Kabore, and Ghana’s Minister for Defence, Hon. Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, are expected to headline this year’s celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Chaplaincy, University of Ghana, Legon.

The event, which will be held under the theme “Blessed are those who have not lost hope” – Sirach 14-2, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 27, 2025.

Organised by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP), Legon Conference, in collaboration with the Chaplaincy, the celebration aims to honour the wisdom, faith, and enduring contributions of the elderly in Church and society.

The presence of Archbishop Kabore, the Pope’s representative in Ghana, is expected to underscore the Church’s global call to cherish and protect the aged as “a treasure of humanity,” as often emphasized by the late Pope Francis.

In line with the celebration, Pope Leo XIV has issued a message of hope to the elderly.

At the beginning of his message, the Holy Father evoked the Jubilee Year to remind the faithful that “hope is a constant source of joy, whatever our age.”

He cited some elderly biblical figures, such as Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and Zechariah, whom the Lord surprised in “an act of saving power”: “God repeatedly demonstrates his providential care by turning to people in their later years,” he explained.

The pontiff noted that by making these choices, “God thus teaches us that, in his eyes, old age is a time of blessing and grace, and that the elderly are, for him, the first witnesses of hope.”

He then emphasized that the increasing number of elderly people “is a sign of the times that we are called to discern, in order to properly interpret this moment of history.”

The Holy Father noted that “embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships. Instead, life is constantly pointing us toward the future.”

He also emphasized that “if it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom.”

The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly was instituted by Pope Francis in 2021 and is celebrated every fourth Sunday of July, close to the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. The Day is intended to affirm the vital role of grandparents and older persons in passing on the faith and building up the Church.