JUBILEE OF THE ELDERLY TO BE CELEBRATED ON SUNDAY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 15, 2000 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 17, the Pope will preside at a Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Square for the occasion of the Jubilee of the Elderly.

Starting at 9 a.m., there will be a period of spiritual preparation involving meditation on John Paul II's Letter to the Elderly of October 1, 1999. An elderly couple will recount how it is possible to grow old together in love, a group of children will read the letters they have written to their grandparents and a Romanian woman will relate how older people were able to transmit the faith under difficult conditions.

Among the participants will be groups organized by various Italian dioceses as well as members of Italian Catholic Action (ACI), of the Community of St. Egidio and of other movements and communities.

At 3:30 p.m. in the Paul VI Hall, a meeting organized by ACI will take place in which there will be testimonies, reflection and songs on the theme: "Announce joy, novelty and hope."

On Saturday September 16, 500 people - delegates of episcopal conferences, ecclesial movements, associations of faithful and religious congregations - will, at the invitation of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, participate in a debate on the theme: "The gift of a long life: responsibility and hope." Following an introduction by Cardinal James Stafford, president of the pontifical council, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop of Genoa, Italy, will speak on: "The Jubilee, theological and spiritual significance for the aged." During the course of the afternoon, a round-table discussion will consider the different ways in which it is possible to contribute to respecting the dignity of the elderly, helping them to carry out their mission in today's world.

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