On 28^th September, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis met with elderly people and grandparents in the first international day dedicated to senior citizens, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Family. The meeting entitled: “The blessing of a long life”, coincided with the Day of Prayer for the Synod on the Family, inspired by many of the Pope’s speeches when he several times recalled the tragedy of the “culture of waste” typical of “a people who does not look after its elderly,” discarding them “with attitudes that thinly hide euthanasia.” «We Christians, – the Pope said – together with all people of good will, are called to patiently build a more diverse, more welcoming, more humane, more inclusive society, that does not need to discard the weak in body and mind. On the contrary we need a society which measures its success on how the weak are cared for». The meeting was an opportunity to reaffirm that – as Monsignor Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said “Old age is not a shipwreck but a vocation: our years of life have been lengthened, but an adequate reflection on this issue has not been carried out neither in politics nor economy, nor society and not even culturally.” “Old age should be re-thought and also the involvement of the elderly in the world must be reconsidered and the Church’s attitude towards them. In addition to all the civil aspects, there is a culture that the elderly can convey – not to see the weakening of life as the final tragedy but as a witness of hope in the next life.” The event of 28th September is part of the Day of Prayer for the Synod on the Family, “the fundamental and primary place where an elderly person can live within a web of relationships that sustain them” – continues Mgr Paglia – “and which in turn they are called to enliven and enrich. The elderly are not only the object of attention and care, but are also subjects of a new vision of life.”