Thousands of participants gathered for the Pilgrimage of the families at the Knock Shrine. Together with Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer for the Grandparents
Over 20 thousand people took part in the pilgrimage of the families to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, in Ireland, on Sunday, September 8th. On the altar there were thousands of prayers written by primary school children and gathered during the school year, to thank the Lord for the gift of their grandparents. During the Pilgrimage, time was dedicated to reflection on the role of the elderly and of grandparents in the family and in today’s society. «The family is not only the primary natural community that lives together under the same roof; it is also composed of other members, connected naturally or by acquired relations, and all together constitute the nuclear society», said Msgr. Carlos Simon Vazquez, the Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who represented the Dicastery at the Pilgrimage. «Grandparents play a fundamental and inalienable role of witness and in the education to love and personal relationships, to the responsibility for others. Now, in the present crisis, their economic support to the family is often vital». In many of the Ireland’s 26 dioceses, there is an Office of Ministry to the elderly. Together the pilgrims prayed Benedict XVI’s prayer for grandparents. This is a prayer—commented Mons. Simon Vazquez—«with a strong ecumenical value». Many of the pilgrims have confirmed that they will participate in the Pilgrimage of the Families, promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Family, to the Tomb of St. Peter in Rome, on October 26th and 27th.
Prayer for Grandparents
Lord Jesus, you were born of the Virgin Mary, the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne. Look with love on grandparents the throughout the world. Protect them! They are a source of enrichment for families, for the Church and for all of society. Support them! As they grow older, may they continue to be, for their families, strong pillars of Gospel faith, guardians of noble domestic ideals and living treasuries of sound religious traditions. Make them teachers of wisdom and courage, so that they may pass on to future generations the fruits of their mature human and spiritual experience. Lord Jesus, help families and society to value the presence and roles of grandparents. May they never be ignored or excluded, but always encounter respect and love. Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed in all the years of life that you give them. Mary, Mother of all the living, keep grandparents constantly in your care, accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage and, by your prayers, grant that all families may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland, where you await all humanity for the great embrace of life without end. Amen!