Silver Sunday – 6th October 2024

Silver Sunday is a national day in the UK celebrating older people, organised by held Age UK. It is held on the first Sunday in October and this year it will be Sunday 6th October. In the UK, it is also national Grandparents’ Day on the first Sunday in October, so a double celebration related to later life and older people and the contribution they make to society.

As part of the Silver Sunday celebrations, organisations put on special events that welcome older people – particularly those who may be lonely or isolated. Age UK lists official events on its website here.

Growing Old Grace-fully supports Silver Sunday (and Grandparents’ Day) and sees the first Sunday in October as an important opportunity to celebrate later life and to do so in our parishes and communities.

Silver Sunday and Grandparents’ Day gives every parish the opportunity to dedicate a Mass or Masses to older people, to include something in the parish bulletin and to perhaps include a bidding prayer. Some parishes organise events after Mass or in the afternoon. Grandchildren could also be invited to attend Mass with their grandparents.

Do speak to your parish priest about doing something to commemorate Silver Sunday and UK Grandparents’ Day.

Here is a prayer for Silver Sunday and Grandparents’ Day:

Prayer for Silver Sunday and UK Grandparents’ Day

Heavenly Father,

On this special day, as we celebrate Silver Sunday and Grandparents’ Day, we ask your blessings upon all older members of our parish, our community and our society. We thank you for the blessing of later life and for all the wisdom, knowledge and love given and received. 

On a day to celebrate all older people and later life, we pray that we and all of our community and wider society will continue to honour and cherish older people and to celebrate their hugely important contribution over many years to family life, the Church, their local community, society and the wider world. 

We also pray for organisations like Age UK, the organisers of Silver Sunday and thank them for the opportunity to celebrate older people in the UK and their huge importance to our nation and our society. We also pray for all Age UK volunteers and all volunteers of all charities, pressure groups and third sector organisations focused on older people and later life, many of whom are older people themselves. 

On UK Grandparents’ Day, bless all grandparents who have shaped our families with their faith, patience, and care. May they continue to be a source of strength, love, and wisdom for generations to come.

We pray for those who feel lonely, isolated or forgotten in later life. Lord, fill their hearts with peace and remind them of their great dignity and value. Open the hearts of people of all ages to seek to include, engage and cherish older people in their parishes and their communities, including those who don’t have regular contact with families and friends.  

Through the intercession of St Anthony of Padua, Patron Saint of Older People, St. Jeanne Jurgan, a patron saint of older people and older destitute people, and Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, we ask for your blessings and grace upon all older people, today and always.

We ask this in the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly – Sunday 28th July

Pope Francis established a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly which took place for the first time on Sunday 25 July 2021.

In 2024, the celebration is this this Sunday, 28 July – the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus.

The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is:

“Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf. Psalm 71:9).

As the Pope says, we should cherish the elderly and recognise that there’s no retirement age from the work of proclaiming the Gospel and handing down traditions to grandchildren.

Here you can read the full message from the Holy Father.

Also here are prayers and links from the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales to help you celebrate the day.

If you are a grandparent and are able to attend Mass, you could invite your grandchildren to attend with you.

The Catholic Grandparents Association has been at the forefront in campaigning for a greater recognition of Grandparents for their role and vocation in passing on their faith to the next generation. They have also produced resources that you might wish to use.

Prayer for Grandparents’ Day

(Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales)

We pray for grandparents; keep them and make them courageous, wise and caring.

We pray for the elderly who feel isolated at this time, so that they know they are never alone, as you continue to be with them.

We pray for all who are ill, that they may experience your healing power and grace.We pray for those who have died, that they are taken into your loving care and into their eternal resting home.

Let us say the prayer that Jesus taught us and what we heard in our Gospel: Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.