The Pope says that the prayers of the elderly, especially the Rosary, are a support of every day.
"Dear elderly brothers and sisters, I thank you for supporting me every day with your prayers, especially when you recite the Holy Rosary."
This is among the concluding remarks of Pope Leo XIV in his second message for the World Day of Grandparents and Elderly, celebrated each year on July 26, which is the feast day of Jesus' own grandparents, Joachim and Anne.
The full text of Leo's message is here.
With this small comment at the end, Pope Leo makes another appeal to the faithful to pray the Rosary.
The Holy Father has noted on more than one occasion that his parents prayed the Rosary together each evening. In July of 2025, he explained to newlyweds in St. Peter's:
“My parents prayed the Rosary together their whole lives every day … I found that I was always blessed, I’m sure because of it, their love for one another."
He added that his parents “put their faith in God and in the intercession through Mary.”
In his first interview, with journalist Elise Ann Allen, Pope Leo affirmed, "I believe I’m who I am because I had a wonderful relationship with my father and my mother. They had a very happy married life for over forty years."
Rosary for peace
Like Pope Francis and the popes before them, Pope Leo joins the line of those who urge the faithful to pray the Rosary, especially for peace.
During his first month of the Rosary (October) as pope, Leo asked:
Dear brothers and sisters, the month of October is now approaching, and in the Church it is dedicated in a special way to the Holy Rosary. Therefore, I invite everyone, every day of the coming month, to pray the Rosary for peace: personally, in the family, in the community.
The Rosary was prayed daily at the Vatican during October for the intention of peace.
Then, last month, his first full month of Mary as pope, he said:
The month of May has begun: throughout the Church, the joy of gathering in the name of Mary, our Mother, is renewed, especially by praying the Rosary together. We relive the experience of those days between Jesus’ Ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples gathered in the upper room to invoke the Holy Spirit. Mary Most Holy remained in their midst, her heart keeping watch over the fire that animated the prayer of all.
I entrust my intentions to you, particularly for communion within the Church and for peace in the world.
And you?
As Catholics, we might ask ourselves how we are responding to this Pope's and other popes' repeated invitations?
And if we are ourselves among the elderly and have not made a good habit of the daily Rosary, as Pope Leo says elsewhere in his message this year: It is never too late to begin turning to Him.
