Witnesses to the Past, Contributors to the Future

Grandparents Mass | Feast of St Joachim and Anne

Recently, on 1 June, at a Mass in St Peter’s Square to conclude the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Leo said, “Families are the cradle of the future of humanity”. This is very true and it needs to proclaimed clearly to the world of today. It is not the individual who is the key to society, but the family unit.

The family unit is a natural society. It exists long before the State or any other body. The family is the basic unit of society and the bedrock of social development.

The family unit, as the synthesis of the deepest human impulses for social relationships, for expression of self-giving love, for emotional wellbeing, is not the creation of one particular human era, but rather is the patrimony of every era and civilization.

The family unit is the natural environment in which human life is created, cared for and valued. Within this environment the irreplaceable nature of each person is abundantly clear, since each member has a name, not a number.

It is within the family that each individual learns how to put their existence into the right context. A person does not exist for themselves, but they are part of a set of relationships.

At the same time the growth in understanding moral standards and acting upon them is experienced first within the family and the family unit is the best place for each person to develop and mature.

Within the family sphere we learn standards, values and respect for others, which are essential for the development and well-being of the individuals. They provide the foundation for forming of society as a whole, where qualities like freedom, respect, consideration of others, generosity, and mutual concern can be fostered.

Family is the place where faith in God is nourished. Pope Leo commented at the Mass on 1 June, “In the family faith is handed on together with life, generation after generation”. It is in the family that the child first encounters the faith, and comes to know the reality and the love of God.

It is in the context of family that we recognize the role of grandparents. Parents, of course, are the first teachers of their children in the way of faith. However, grandparents also have a vital role to play, complementing the role of parents.

I have witnessed time and time again the efforts of grandparents to nurture the faith of their grandchildren. Often these days grandparents are called upon to assist parents in the care for their children for the duration of a day.

This is often necessary in a society that has created the demand for both parents to work. Grandparents are called upon especially during school holidays to care for the young children.

Pope Francis was a great advocate of the role of grandparents. In his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis reminds us of the importance of grandparents in family life and how their role can be fundamental in transmitting the Catholic faith to future generations. This intergenerational connection can have a real impact on the spiritual growth of children.

He commented, “Very often it is grandparents who ensure that the most important values are passed down to their grandchildren, and many people can testify that they owe their initiation into the Christian life to their grandparents”.

Grandparents play a vital role in nurturing their grandchildren’s faith by sharing stories, modelling faith in daily life, and providing a sense of continuity and connection to family traditions and values which had originated in the Christian tradition. 

They can share their personal faith stories, read scriptures together, and create opportunities for spiritual conversations and reflection.

To grandparents here today I encourage you to see that you have a role to play in the growth of the faith of your grandchildren. I know many of you see this as a special ‘ministry’, if you like.

I know you do and I encourage you to continue to pray steadily and constantly for your grandchildren. And teach them to pray. You know that faith is essentially caught rather than taught, so the example of your Christian life is a very real influence.

It is good to engage in conversations with your children on matters of faith. Give them age-appropriate books on the bible and the saints as birthday or Christmas presents.

At this Grandparents Mass I salute you as faithful souls never tiring not only of living the faith yourself, but wanting it transmitted to the generations that follow you.

You are valued and important. We never retire as parents or grandparents. It is who we are, and it is the contribution we continue to make. May you be respected and appreciated within your families.

Pope Francis commented, “A family that fails to respect and cherish its grandparents, who are its living memory, is already in decline, whereas a family that remembers has a future.”

Grandparents, you are not only witnesses to the past, but, more importantly, you are contributors to the future, especially within your families.

Archbishop Julian Porteous

Saturday, 26 July 2025