Pope Francis greets an elderly couple at his general audience on Jan. 11, 2023 / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jul 5, 2023 / 10:58 am (CNA).
The Vatican will again offer a plenary indulgence to mark the third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on July 23.
The indulgence can be received by grandparents, the elderly, and all Catholics who, “motivated by the true spirit of penance and charity,” participate in Pope Francis’ July 23 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica or another Grandparents’ Day celebration, or who visit the elderly, the Vatican said.
Chosen by Pope Francis, the theme of Grandparents’ Day 2023 comes from a verse in the Gospel of Luke: “His mercy is from age to age.”
It will be marked this year on July 23, the Sunday before the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus.
The concession of the plenary indulgence for Grandparents’ Day 2023 was granted by a July 5 decree from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, the head of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, a tribunal of the Apostolic See with jurisdiction over indulgences and the absolution of the gravest sins.
An indulgence is defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.”
The usual conditions for a plenary indulgence require the individual to be in a state of grace, have complete detachment from sin, and pray for the pope’s intentions.
The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion, up to about 20 days before or after the prayers for the indulgence.
In his decree, Piacenza asked priests to be more available to hear confessions in light of the possible indulgence.
“So that, therefore, this opportunity to attain divine grace through the power of the Keys of the Church may more easily be implemented through pastoral charity, this Penitentiary firmly requests priests equipped with the appropriate faculties to hear confessions to make themselves available, with a ready and generous spirit, for the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance,” he said.
The July 5 decree stipulated that one way to receive the plenary indulgence for Grandparents’ Day is by dedicating time on July 23 to visiting the elderly, particularly those who are sick, disabled, or abandoned. A phone or video call can also count, the Vatican said.
Another way is to attend Pope Francis’ Grandparents’ Day Mass at the Vatican or another Grandparents’ Day Mass.
Those who would like to participate in the indulgence but are unable to leave their homes due to sickness, age, or another serious reason, the decree said, can unite themselves spiritually to the celebrations of the day through “offering to the Merciful God their prayers, pain, and the suffering of their lives” while watching the pope’s Mass or another celebration on TV or online.
Pope Francis, who often speaks about the dignity of the elderly and the importance of grandparents in passing on the faith, established the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in 2021.
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Pope Francis greets Cardinal Luis Ladaria. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Sep 5, 2023 / 09:33 am (CNA).
Pope Francis met with Cardinal Luis Ladaria on Tuesday morning to thank him for his six years as head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of t… […]
Pope Francis prayed before a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux at the beginning of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square, and shortly before going to the hospital for an abdominal surgery, on June 7, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, Jun 7, 2023 / 04:37 am (CNA).
One of Pope Francis’ last gestures before undergoing abdominal surgery on Wednesday was to pray before a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux.
A relic of the French Carmelite nun, also known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus, was present on the platform in front of St. Peter’s Basilica during the pope’s weekly general audience June 7.
Before beginning the audience, Francis venerated the relics of St. Therese in a moment of silent prayer. He also placed a single, white rose on the table in front of the reliquary.
Pope Francis was taken to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for abdominal surgery under general anesthesia at the end of the morning audience, shortly after 11:00 a.m. Rome time, the Vatican said.
Relics of St. Therese’s parents, Sts. Louis and Zélie Guérin Martin, were also present at the meeting with the public June 7. The relics of all three saints will visit different churches in Rome through June 16.
Relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Guerin Martin, were on the platform in front of St. Peter’s Basilica during Pope Francis’ general audience June 7, 2023. The relics made a pilgrimage to Rome June 6-16, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis said Wednesday he intends to publish an apostolic letter on St. Therese of Lisieux, “patroness of the missions,” to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth.
“She was a Carmelite nun who lived her life according to the way of littleness and weakness: she defined herself as ‘a small grain of sand,’” he said in St. Peter’s Square.
“Having poor health, she died at the age of only 24,” he added. “But though her body was sickly, her heart was vibrant, missionary.”
“Here before us are the relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, universal patroness of missions,” he said. “It is good that this happens while we are reflecting on the passion for evangelization, on apostolic zeal. Today, then, let us allow the witness of St. Therese to help us. She was born 150 years ago, and I plan to dedicate an apostolic letter to her on this anniversary.”
🎥HIGHLIGHTS | Before commencing the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis shared a beautiful moment of prayer before the sacred relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church and Patroness of the Missions. As a symbol of his devotion, the Holy Father… pic.twitter.com/lRJeWuSx8n
St. Therese of Lisieux was born on Jan. 2, 1873, in Alençon, France. Her mother died when she was four, leaving her father and older sisters to raise her. She received papal permission to enter the Carmelite Monastery at the young age of 15, where she lived until her death from Tuberculosis at the age of 24.
She was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by St. Pope John Paul II in 1997 and is the patron saint of missions.
Pope Francis reflected on the saint’s life as part of a series of lessons on evangelical zeal.
“She is patroness of the missions, but she was never sent on mission,” Francis explained in his catechesis. “She recounts in her ‘diary’ that her desire was that of being a missionary, and that she wanted to be one not just for a few years, but for the rest of her life, even until the end of the world.”
St. Therese did this, he said, by becoming a spiritual sister to several missionaries, whom she accompanied through her prayers, letters, and sacrifices from within the monastery walls.
“Without being visible, she interceded for the missions, like an engine that, although hidden, gives a vehicle the power to move forward,” the pope said.
“Missionaries, in fact — of whom Therese is patroness — are not only those who travel long distances, learn new languages, do good works, and are good at proclamation,” he added. “No, a missionary is anyone who lives as an instrument of God’s love where they are.”
Pope Francis spoke about St. Therese of Lisieux, the patroness of missions, during his general audience June 7, 2023. Relics of St. Therese and her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Guerin Martin, were present on the platform beside the pope for the audience. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis recounted two episodes from St. Therese’s life that help to explain the source of her zeal and missionary strength.
The first happened during Christmas 1886, when Therese was almost 14 years old.
St. Therese was pampered as the youngest child of the family, he explained. But her father was tired after midnight Mass for Christmas and did not feel like being present when his daughter opened her gifts, so he said he was glad it was the last year she would receive gifts.
“Therese, who was very sensitive and easily moved to tears, was hurt, and went up to her room and cried,” the pope said.
“But she quickly suppressed her tears, went downstairs and, full of joy, she was the one who cheered her father,” he said. “What had happened? On that night, when Jesus had made himself weak out of love, her soul became strong: in just a few moments, she had come out of the prison of her selfishness and self-pity; she began to feel that ‘charity entered her heart’ — so she said — ‘with the need to forget herself’ (cf. Manuscript A, 133-134).”
“From then on, she directed her zeal toward others, that they might find God…”
The second event happened after St. Therese became a Carmelite. Pope Francis said the nun became aware of a hardened criminal, Enrico Pranzini, who was sentenced to death by guillotine for having murdered three people.
Therese had a special zeal for saving sinners, and so “she took him into her heart and did all she could: she prayed in every way for his conversion, so that he, whom, with brotherly compassion she called ‘poor wretched Pranzini,’ might demonstrate a small sign of repentance and make room for God’s mercy,” Francis said.
The day after his execution, she read in the newspaper that before laying his head on the chopping block, Pranzini had, “‘all of a sudden, seized by a sudden inspiration, turned around, grabbed a Crucifix that the priest handed to him and kissed three times the sacred wounds’ of Jesus,” he continued.
“Then his soul,” St. Therese wrote, “went to receive the merciful sentence of the One who declared that in Heaven there will be more joy for a single sinner who repents than for the ninety-nine righteous who have no need of repentance!”
Pope Francis said: “With so many means, methods, and structures available, which sometimes distract from what is essential, the Church needs hearts like Therese’s, hearts that draw people to love and bring people closer to God.”
“Let us today ask this saint, whose relics we have here,” he added, “let us ask this saint for the grace to overcome our selfishness and for the passion to intercede that Jesus might be known and loved.”
Vatican City, Jan 28, 2018 / 05:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Sunday, after leading the Angelus, Pope Francis prayed for victims of two recent attacks in Afghanistan, holding a moment of silent prayer for the more than 100 people who lost their lives, the more than 200 injured, and their families.
“Yesterday from Afghanistan arrived the painful news of the terrible terrorist massacre carried out in the capital Kabul, with almost a hundred dead and numerous wounded,” the Pope said Jan. 28.
“A few days ago another serious attack, still in Kabul, had sowed terror and death in a large hotel.”
“How long will the Afghan people have to endure this inhumane violence? We pray in silence for all the victims and their families; and we pray for those in that country who continue to work to build peace.”
More than 100 people were killed, and over 200 wounded, by an explosion Jan. 27 in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. Attackers drove an ambulance rigged with a bomb into a crowded street, in an area of the city full of government buildings and embassies.
It was the deadliest attack the country has experienced in recent months, and follows just one week after an attack by gunmen on a hotel, also in Kabul.
Jan. 20 a group of gunmen entered the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, shooting at guests and detonating grenades, the BBC reports. The battle between gunmen and special forces lasted 12 hours. At least 18 people were killed, including the four gunmen.
The fundamentalist Islamist group known as the Taliban has claimed responsibility for both attacks this week.
Pope Francis’ appeal for peace in Afghanistan was made after leading the usual Sunday Angelus from a window in Casa Santa Marta. In his message before the prayer, he reflected on the day’s reading from the Gospel of Mark.
In the passage, Jesus preaches in the temple, “with authority,” and performs an exorcism, driving an unclean spirit from a man with the words: “Quiet! Come out of him!”
Here we see Jesus manifest “God’s plan with words and with the power of works,” Francis said.
“In fact, in the Gospel, we see that Jesus, in his earthly mission, reveals the love of God both through preaching and with countless gestures of attention and assistance to the sick, the needy, children and sinners.”
From it we also learn how to overcome our own struggles and temptations with the grace of God. “Think of what great grace it is for us to have known this God so powerful and so good! A teacher and a friend, who shows us the way and takes care of us, especially when we are in need,” he said.
At the end of the Angelus, the Pope also referenced the day’s commemoration of the World Day for Leprosy Patients.
“Unfortunately, this disease still affects the most disadvantaged and poorest people. To these brothers and sisters, we assure our closeness and solidarity; and we also pray for those who assist them and work for their reintegration into society,” he said.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, also released a message for the day. In it he wrote that it is worrying that despite intense efforts, humanity has not been able to definitively eradicate the “ancient” disease of leprosy.
Leprosy, also called Hansen’s Disease, continues to be a significant health problem, he stated, primarily affecting people in precarious socio-economic conditions.
In 2017, the World Health Organization found a high concentration of the disease in just 14 countries, which alone account for 95 percent of new cases. India, Brazil and Indonesia have some of the highest rates.
The social stigma surrounding the disease remains one of the difficulties, Turkson wrote, quoting Pope Francis’ words at an Angelus in January 2017, to “fight against this disease, but also against the discrimination that it generates.”
“I thank all those who, for various reasons, are committed to the sick with Hansen’s disease. May you assist and protect the Good Lord through the intercession of the numerous saints who have made the service of these sick people the reason for their life,” the message concluded.
“His mercy is from age to age” – Wishing the elderly happy times.