Overview

• Pope Leo XIV received participants of the Second International Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Elderly at the Vatican Apostolic Palace on Oct. 3.
• The Rome gathering, hosted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life from Oct. 2–4, is advancing discussion on concrete pastoral approaches without announcing new programs.
• Invoking the congress theme, “Your elders shall dream dreams!”, he echoed Pope Francis’ call for an intergenerational alliance rooted in shared gifts and responsibilities.
• He identified loneliness as the great enemy of older people’s lives, urging targeted outreach so no one is abandoned and encouraging the elderly to become witnesses of hope.
• Calling rapid population ageing an unprecedented reality, he pressed for new catechesis, practical tools, and evangelizing pastoral care that actively involves recently retired Catholics.