The richness of many years of life
Prot. No. 2019/586
Yor Excellency,
Reverend Father,
Our Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life will be organizing the First International Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Elderly, entitled “The richness of many years of life”, from 29 to 31 January, 2020. This initiative intends to respond to the promptings of the Holy Father on this issue, calling for urgent pastoral reflection in order to give greater impetus to evangelization and to a spiritual accompaniment which places the elderly person at the center of an ecclesial commitment which is truly aware of their unique requirements and of the many gifts which exemplify the elderly. For this reason, we would be pleased if your Episcopal Conference could be represented at the Congress.
Registration is possible at the following link:
http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en/register/elderly.html
Conscious of the fact that this type of reflection has already taken place in several local churches, with charitable or pastoral projects that focus on their care and their value within the Church, our hope is to bring together the work of such programs so as to promote through the work of our Dicastery their pastoral richness as a common heritage of the Universal Church.
To this end, we kindly ask you to share with us any relevant pastoral experiences or programs with our Congress Coordinator, Dr. Vittorio Scelzo (at: v.scelzo@laityfamilylife.va), possibly by the end of November. In this regard too, I would be very grateful if you could send us the contact details of the Bishop or of the official responsible for the pastoral care of the elderly in your Episcopal Conference.
While thanking you in advance for your kind and favourable consideration, may I take this opportunity to assure you of my fraternal regards and best wishes in the Lord.
Vatican City, October 22, 2019
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Alexandre Awi Mello, I. Sch.
Secretary
To their Excellencies and Msgrs.
General Secretaries of the Episcopal Conferences Their Respective Sees
