Pope’s wishes for Grandparents Day

(July 27, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI joined the faithful in celebrating Grandparents' Day on Monday, the feast of Jesus' grandparents: Joachim and Anne. At a Grandparents' Day celebration in Jaen, Spain, a papal message was read after a Mass celebrated by Bishop Ramón del Hoyo López. The Holy Father's message and blessing were conveyed by Archbishop Renzo Fratini, the apostolic nuncio in Spain. The Grandparents' Day celebration was organized by the Golden Age: Messengers of Peace Association. The message read: "The Holy Father, appreciating the religious, spiritual, human and social wealth of grandparents, is happy to join in this gesture of affection and gratitude to them and encourages them to persevere in the faith, giving meaning with the light of Christ the Lord to all the moments of their lives." The message ended with a prayer that the Lord help grandparents "with his providence and mercy" imploring for them "the protection of the holy grandparents Joachim and Anne, and of their daughter, the glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ Our Lord.”