With the Solemn Mass and an extended tour of St. Peter’s Square in the Popemobile—blessing children and greeting crowds of faithful—Pope Leo concluded the three-day celebration of the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly:
“The family is where faith is handed on from generation to generation — it is shared like food at the family table and like love in our hearts. Therefore, the family is a privileged place to meet Jesus.”
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More than 70 thousand people from over 130 countries gathered in Rome in different parishes divided by language groups and countries for the days of celebration to share a time of joy, prayer and a deep sense of community. Among the many pilgrims was Agnieszka from Poland who travelled to Rome with her family. She shared:
“We both grew up in a community. We come from the movement Light and Life and have been part of this since we were children, so for us the community is a natural environment for constant growth, and what I feel being here is this community – let me say it dramatically – is built on the foundation of the Apostles.”
In a world so often divided by conflict and disagreement, Pope Leo presided over the Jubilee Mass, inviting families to root their love in Christ and become a living sign of peace for the world.
“Families are the cradle of the future of humanity,” the Pope said. “And this is what the Church needs most now.”
“We have to look at where society actually gets its strength from,” noted Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop Emeritus of Durban, South Africa. “And that is from the family, the community of the family and I was going to say, add to that, in South Africa and Africa in general the family unit, it’s not just Father, mother and the children, it’s the extended Family, grandparents, grand grandchildren. It’s the whole family unit that needs to be strengthened.”
Cardinal Napier shared this reflection during the Catholic Grandparents Association meeting, held just days before the Jubilee of Families began, offering a uniquely African perspective on the Church’s call to support the domestic church.
The Jubilee culminated in three days of joyful celebration in Rome, from May 30th to June 1st. Families from around the globe took part in concerts, shows, games for children, and a Jubilee pilgrimage through the Holy Door—complete with confession, prayer, and celebration in Rome’s sacred spaces.
“I’m 21 years old. I’m from France. From the countryside. I’m with my mother for the Family Jubilee. It’s important for me to come here,” one pilgrim Lea shared.
On Friday, families gathered in the Church of Santa Trinita’ dei Monti where the relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux and of her parents were exposed for veneration. The Pope mentioned them on Sunday as exemplars for today’s world, along with the Polish Ulma family brutally killed by nazis during World War II.
On Saturday, in the square outside St. John Lateran the Family Festival and Prayer Vigil took place, with recitation of the Rosary to close the Marian month of May.
On this occasion the pontifical foundation “Aid to the Church in Need” distributed 10,000 copies of the special edition of the Child’s Bible in five languages.
The Bible can be a great tool for revitalizing faith within the family and as a meeting point between generations, including its all members, especially grandparents.
Pope Leo placed an emphasis on the elderly giving them a task to watch over their loved ones with wisdom and compassion. And during the Regina Coeli he greeted the elderly with particular kindness:
“A special greeting to grandparents and elders. You are genuine models of faith and inspiration for the younger generations.”
The Jubilee of Families, held in Rome, was an opportunity to pray for the future of all families and listen to the testimonies of faith and family life.
Kasia, another pilgrim from Warsaw, shared, “Every evening we kneel to pray all together, and this is the basis of this prayer, to be together, to talk to each other. To pray, to talk, to listen, to be.”
Many of the young people present now in Rome with their parents and grandparents can’t wait to come back soon, for the Jubilee of Youth, on July 28th.
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Adapted by Jacob Stein
Magdalena Wolinska-Riedi contributed to this piece; Produced by Magdalena Wolinska-Riedi; Camera by Sergio Natoli, Patrick Leonard; Special thanks & Credits to The Church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti
