Grandparents Month
Pope Leo XIV’s message, “Signs of Hope”, delivered on the 5th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, provides a compelling theological and pastoral framework that closely aligns with the mission of Grandly.
At the heart of Pope Leo’s reflection is a simple but powerful claim: old age is not a spiritual decline but a privileged place of witness, hope, and transmission. Drawing on scripture, citing Abraham and Sarah, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and Moses, he shows that God repeatedly entrusts the unfolding of salvation history to the elderly, even when the world assumes their time has passed. Old age, in this vision, becomes a time when memory, wisdom, and faith are especially fruitful for the next generation.
This is precisely where Grandly finds its deepest resonance. The Grandly Mission is “to equip grandparents to pass on their faith to their grandchildren,” not only through content but through formation, accompaniment, and community. Pope Leo XIV’s insistence that “the life of the Church and the world can only be understood in light of the passage of generations” provides a direct theological justification for Grandly’s work. The mission is not simply pastoral innovation; it is an embodiment of intergenerational ecclesiology.
Furthermore, Pope Leo XIV’s call for a “revolution of gratitude and care” toward the elderly aligns with Grandly’s emphasis on forming networks among grandparents through its seminars, discussion groups, relational support, and bi-monthly website posts. In this way, Grandly directly addresses the Pope’s concern about isolation and marginalization. It helps transform grandparents from passive recipients of care into active evangelizers within their own families.
The connection is deepened by Pope Francis’s reminder—quoted by Pope Leo XIV—that even in physical weakness, “nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, and giving ourselves.” This insight reframes the elderly, not as limited in mission, but purified in mission. Stripped of distraction, grandparents become living icons of prayerful love. Grandly’s focus on passing on one’s faith through thinking, praying, and acting strategically translates the truth about aging into lived reality.
In this manner, Grandly becomes a practical instrument of the Church’s vision. It builds bridges between grandparents and grandchildren, not only preserving memory but transmitting living faith. It also strengthens the elderly themselves, restoring dignity, purpose, and joy in their vocation as spiritual mentors.
Ultimately, both papal teaching and Grandly converge on a single conviction: when generations are united in faith, the Church becomes a living sign of hope—whatever our age.
Steve Hilker is a Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Lansing