Old Age Is Not a Disease

 Published online by Commonweal on March 3, 2025

Pope Francis's Preferential Option for the Elderly

Old age is not a disease,” my mom proclaimed. By this time, she was close to ninety. But age had already long freed her tongue: on reaching eighty she’d informed us, more than once, “I’m old now and I can say what I want.

Carmen Nanko-Fernández is professor of Hispanic theology and ministry and director of the Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

 Pope Francis channeled my mom, speaking out against temptations to pathologize aging: “Many people are afraid of old age. They consider it a sort of disease with which any contact is best avoided.”

Second World Day for Grandparents and Elderly "In old age they will still bear fruit" (Psalm 92:15) These words of the Psalmist are glad tidings, a true “gospel” that we can proclaim to all on this second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. They run counter to what the world thinks about this stage of life, but also to the attitude of grim resignation shown by some of us elderly people, who harbor few expectations for the future. The elderly, they think, are none of their concern and should be set apart, perhaps in homes or places where they can be cared for, lest we have to deal with their problems. This is the mindset of the “throw-away culture”, which leads us to think that we are somehow different from the poor and vulnerable in our midst, untouched by their frailties and separated from “them” and their troubles. Old age is not a time of life easily understood even by those of us who are already experiencing it. Even though it eventually comes with the passage of time, no one prepares us for old age, and at times it seems to take us by surprise. The more developed societies expend large sums on this stage of life without really helping people to understand and appreciate it; they offer healthcare plans to the elderly but not plans for living this age to the full The recognition that our strength is ebbing or the onset of sickness can undermine our certainties. The fast pace of the world – with which we struggle to keep up – seems to leave us no alternative but to implicitly accept the idea that we are useless. Aging is not a condemnation, but a blessing! For this reason, we ought to take care of ourselves and remain active in our later years. This is also true from a spiritual standpoint: we ought to cultivate our interior life through the assiduous reading of the word of God, daily prayer, reception of the sacraments and participation in the liturgy.  In addition to our relationship with God, we should also cultivate our relationships with others: first of all by showing affectionate concern for our families, our children and grandchildren, but also for the poor and those who suffer, by drawing near to them with practical assistance and our prayers. These things will help us not to feel like mere bystanders, sitting on our porches or looking out from our windows, as life goes on all around us.

Francis claims his place as one from among these “new people,” new in the sense that “there have never been so many of us in human history.” He writes and speaks as a voice of his generation, situating himself among his elder peers. He gets it—physically, socially, and emotionally—from the disappointment of curtailing participation in anticipated events, to increased dependence on a wheelchair, to health scares underscoring mortality.

Catechesis on Old Age: 1. The grace of time and the bond between age and life General Audience: Wednesday, 23 February 2022  Let us reflect on old age. For some decades now, this stage of life has concerned a veritable “new people”, who are the elderly. There have never been so many of us in human history. The risk of being discarded is even more frequent: never as many as now, never as much risk of being discarded as now. The elderly are often seen as ‘a burden’. In the dramatic first phase of the pandemic it was they who paid the highest price. They were already the weakest and most neglected group: we did not notice them too much when they were alive, we did not even see them die. Together with migration, old age is one of the most urgent issues facing the human family at this time. It is not just a question of quantitative change; the unity of the stages of life is at stake: that is, the real point of reference for understanding and appreciating human life in its entirety. We ask ourselves: is there friendship, is there cooperation between the different stages of life, or do separation and being discarded prevail? The dominant culture has as its sole model the young adult, that is, a self-made individual who always remains young. But is it true that youth contains the full meaning of life, while old age simply represents its emptying and loss? Is that true? The exaltation of youth as the only age worthy of embodying the human ideal, coupled with contempt for old age, seen as frailty, as decay or disability, has been the dominant image of 20th-century totalitarianism. Have we forgotten this?  In fact, in the representation of the meaning of life — and precisely in so-called ‘developed’ cultures — old age has little incidence. Why? Because it is regarded as an age that has no special content to offer, nor meaning of its own to live. Moreover, there is a lack of encouragement for people to seek them out, and there is a lack of education for the community to recognize them. In short, for an age that is now a decisive part of the community space and extends to a third of the entire life span, there are — at times — care plans, but not projects of existence. Care plans, yes; but not plans to let them live to the full. And this is a void of thought, of imagination and of creativity.  Youth is beautiful, but eternal youth is a very dangerous hallucination. Being old is just as important — and beautiful — it is equally important as being young. Let us remember this. The alliance between generations, which restores all ages of life to the human, is our lost gift and we have to get it back. It must be found, in this throwaway culture and in this culture of productivity. The Word of God has much to say about this covenant. A short while ago,  we heard the prophecy of Joel: “your old men shall dream dreams    and your young men shall see visions” (2:28). It can be interpreted as follows: when the elderly resist the Spirit, burying their dreams in the past, the young can no longer see the things that must be done to open up the future. When, on the other hand, the old communicate their dreams, the young see clearly what they have to do. Young people who no longer question the dreams of the old, aiming headlong at visions that do not go beyond their noses, will struggle to carry their present and bear their future. If grandparents fall back on their melancholies, young people will look even more to their smartphones. And I would like to emphasise, as we heard in the prophecy of Joel at the beginning, that the important thing is not only that the elderly occupy the place of wisdom they have, of lived history in society, but also that there be a conversation, that they talk to the young. The young must converse with the elderly, and the elderly with the young. And this bridge will be the transmission of wisdom in humanity

In his 2021 inaugural message for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, he reminded listeners, “I was called to become the Bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age and thought I would not be doing anything new. The Lord is always—always—close to us. He is close to us with new possibilities, new ideas, new consolations.”

MESSAGE FOR THE FIRST WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY Message on 21July 2021,   “I am with you always” (Mt 28:20): this is the promise the Lord made to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. They are the words that he repeats to you today, dear grandfathers and grandmothers, dear elderly friends.  “I am with you always” are also the words that I, as Bishop of Rome and an elderly person like yourselves, would like to address to you on this first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. The whole Church is close to you – to us – and cares about you, loves you and does not want to leave you alone!  I am well aware that this Message comes to you at a difficult time: the pandemic swept down on us like an unexpected and furious storm; it has been a time of trial for everyone, but especially for us elderly persons. Many of us fell ill, others died or experienced the death of spouses or loved ones, while others found themselves isolated and alone for long periods. Even at the darkest moments, as in these months of pandemic, the Lord continues to send angels to console our loneliness and to remind us: “I am with you always”. He says this to you, and he says it to me. That is the meaning of this Day, which I wanted to celebrate for the first time in this particular year, as a long period of isolation ends and social life slowly resumes. May every grandfather, every grandmother, every older person, especially those among us who are most alone, receive the visit of an angel! At times those angels will have the face of our grandchildren, at others, the face of family members, lifelong friends or those we have come to know during these trying times, when we have learned how important hugs and visits are for each of us. How sad it makes me that in some places these are still not possible! The Lord, however, also sends us messengers through his words, which are always at hand. Let us try to read a page of the Gospel every day, to pray with the psalms, to read the prophets! It makes no difference how old you are, whether you still work or not, whether you are alone or have a family, whether you became a grandmother or grandfather at a young age or later, whether you are still independent or need assistance. Because there is no retirement age from the work of proclaiming the Gospel and handing down traditions to your grandchildren. You just need to set out and undertake something new. At this crucial moment in history, you have a renewed vocation. You may wonder: How this can be possible? My energy is running out and I don’t think I can do much. How can I begin to act differently when habit is so much a part of my life? Jesus himself heard a similar question from Nicodemus, who asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?” (Jn 3:4). It can happen, the Lord replies, if we open our hearts to the working of the Holy Spirit, who blows where he wills. The Holy Spirit whose freedom is such that goes wherever, and does whatever, he wills. As I have often observed, we will not emerge from the present crisis as we were before, but either better or worse. And “God willing… this may prove not to be just another tragedy of history from which we learned nothing… If only we might keep in mind all those elderly persons who died for lack of respirators... If only this immense sorrow may not prove useless but enable us to take a step forward towards a new style of life.  Among the pillars that support this new edifice, there are three that you, better than anyone else, can help to set up.  Those three pillars are dreams, memory and prayer. The Lord’s closeness will grant to all, even the frailest among us, the strength needed to embark on a new journey along the path of dreams, memory and prayer.

This option for elders is woven throughout Francis’s pontificate. Along with migration, the pope considers it to be “one of the most urgent issues facing the human family at this time.” He has expressed solidarity with and concern for elders in a variety of venues, from the pulpit to social media. From February through August of 2022, he used his weekly general audiences to impart a thematic catechesis on old age.

In this precarious time of his hospitalization, Pope Francis continues his pedagogy on aging by choosing an unprecedented transparency that allows us to intimately accompany our abuelo en la fe. Whether he is working, resting, praying, or struggling, he models the theme he has chosen for this year’s World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly: “Blessed are those who have not lost hope” (Sirach 14:2). 

Pope calls parish in Gaza as his condition remains stable on Ash Wednesday Vatican News: March 5, 2025 afternoon update "The Holy Father remained stable today as well, without any episodes of respiratory insufficiency. "As planned, he utilized supplemental, high-flow oxygenation, and non-invasive mechanical ventilation will be resumed tonight. "The Holy Father increased his respiratory and active motor physiotherapy. He spent the day in his armchair. "Given the complexity of the clinical situation, the prognosis remains guarded. "This morning, in the private apartment located on the 10th floor, the Holy Father participated in the rite of the blessing of the Sacred Ashes, which were imposed on him by the celebrant. He then received the Eucharist. "Afterwards, he engaged in several work activities. During the morning, he also called Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza. "In the afternoon, he alternated between rest and work."

Francis, living into his age in public ways, reminds us: “With old age you get all these illnesses and we have to accept them as they come, don’t we? We don’t have the strength of youth! And your witness will also be accompanied by this weakness.”

Catechesis on Old Age: 15. Peter and John  General Audience: 22 August 2022 In our catechetical journey on old age, today we will meditate on the dialogue between the risen Jesus and Peter at the end of John’s Gospel (21:15-23). It is a moving dialogue, from which shines all the love of Jesus for his disciples, and also the sublime humanity of his relationship with them, in particular with Peter: a tender relationship, but not melancholic; direct, strong, free, open. A relationship as men and in truth.  We can ask ourselves: are we capable of preserving the tenor of this relationship of Jesus with the disciples, according to his style that is so open, so frank, so direct, so humanly real? How is our relationship with Jesus? Is it like this, like that of the Apostles with Him? Are we not, instead, very often tempted to enclose the testimony of the Gospel in the cocoon of a ‘sugar-coated’ revelation, to which is added our own circumstantial veneration? This attitude, which seems respectful, actually distances us from the real Jesus, and even becomes the occasion for a very abstract, very self-referential, very worldly journey of faith, which is not the path of Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God made man, and He comports Himself as man, He speaks to us as man, God-man: with this tenderness, with this friendship, with this closeness. Jesus is not like the image of holy cards, no: Jesus is close at hand, he is near us.  In the course of Jesus’ discussion with Peter, we find two passages that deal precisely with old age and the passage of time : the time of testimony, the time of life. The first passage is Jesus’ warning to Peter: when you were young you were self-sufficient, when you will be old, you will no longer be so much the master of yourself and your life. You’re telling me; I have to go around in a wheelchair, eh? But that’s how it is, that’s life. With old age you get all these illnesses and we have to accept them as they come, don’t we? We don’t have the strength of youth! And your witness, Jesus says, will also be accompanied by this weakness. You have to be a witness to Jesus even in weakness, illness and death.  Following Jesus always continues, in good health, in not so good health; with physical self-sufficiency and without physical self-sufficiency. But following Jesus is important: to follow Jesus always, on foot, running, going slowly, in a wheelchair… but always following Him.  This conversation between Jesus and Peter contains a valuable teaching for all disciples, for all of us believers, and also for all the elderly. From our frailty we learn to express the consistency of our witness of life in the conditions of a life largely entrusted to others, largely dependent on the initiative of others. With sickness, with old age, dependence grows and we are no longer as self-sufficient as before; dependence on others grows and there too faith matures, there too Jesus is with us, there too that richness of the faith well lived on the road of life springs forth.  But again we must ask ourselves: do we have a spirituality truly capable of interpreting the season — by now long and widespread — of this time of our weakness, that is entrusted to others more than to the power of our autonomy? How do we remain faithful to the sequela we have lived, to the promised love, to the justice sought in the time of our capacity for initiative, in the time of fragility, in the time of dependence, of farewell, in the time of moving away from being the protagonist of our lives? It’s not easy to move away from being the protagonist. It’s not easy.  This new time is also certainly a time of trial — beginning with the temptation — very human, undoubtedly, but also very insidious — to preserve our protagonism. And at times the protagonist has to diminish, has to lower him or herself, to accept that old age reduces you as a protagonist. But you will have another way of expressing yourself, another way of participating in the family, in society, in a group of friends. And it is the curiosity that comes to Peter: “What about him?”, says Peter, seeing the beloved disciple following them (cf. vv. 20-21). Sticking your nose in other people’s lives. But no: Jesus says: “Shut up!”. Does he have to be part of “my” following [of Jesus]? Does he have to occupy “my” space? Will he be my successor? These are questions that do no good, that don’t help. Must he outlive me and take my place? Jesus’ answer is frank and even rude: “What is that to you? Follow me”  We elderly people should not be envious of young people who take their path, who occupy our place, who outlive us. The honor of our faithfulness to sworn love, fidelity to the following of the faith in which we have believed, even in the conditions that bring us nearer to the end of life, are our claim to the admiration of the generations to come and of grateful recognition from the Lord.  Even the forcibly inactive following [of Jesus], made up of enthusiastic contemplation and rapt listening to the word of the Lord — like that of Mary, Lazarus’ sister — will become the best part of their lives, of the lives of us elderly persons. May this part never be taken from us again, never (cf. Lk 10:42)

“The elder is not an alien. We are that elder: in the near or far future, but inevitably, even if we don’t think it.” It is a caution: “And if we don’t learn how to treat the elder better, that is how we will be treated.” Solidarity is built on the recognition that we are all invested in the common good. If one suffers, we all suffer…eventually.

The family - 6. The elderly General Audience on 4 March 2015  Today’s catechesis and next Wednesday’s will be dedicated to the elderly, who in the family are the grandparents, aunts and uncles. Today we will reflect on the current problematic condition of the elderly, and next time, that is, next Wednesday, on a more positive note, on the vocation pertaining to this stage of life.  Thanks to the progress of medicine life-spans have increased: but society has not “expanded” to life! The number of elderly has multiplied, but our societies are not organized well enough to make room for them, with proper respect and practical consideration for their frailty and their dignity. While we are young, we are led to ignore old age, as if it were a disease to keep away from; then when we become old, especially if we are poor, if we are sick and alone, we experience the shortcomings of a society programmed for efficiency, which consequently ignores its elderly. And the elderly are a wealth not to be ignored.  Benedict XVI, visiting a home for the elderly, used clear and prophetic words, saying in this way: “The quality of a society, I mean of a civilization, is also judged by how it treats elderly people and by the place it gives them in community life” It’s true, attention to the elderly makes the difference in a civilization. Is there attention to the elderly in a civilization? Is there room for the elderly? This civilization will move forward if it knows how to respect wisdom, the wisdom of the elderly. In a civilization in which there is no room for the elderly or where they are thrown away because they create problems, this society carries with it the virus of death.  In the West, scientists present the current century as the aging century: children are diminishing, the elderly are increasing. This imbalance challenges us, indeed, it is a great challenge for contemporary society. Yet a culture of profit insists on casting off the old like a “weight”. Not only do they not produce — this culture thinks — but they are a burden: in short, what is the outcome of thinking like this? They are thrown away. It’s brutal to see how the elderly are thrown away, it is a brutal thing, it is a sin! No one dares to say it openly, but it’s done! There is something vile in this adherence to the throw-away culture. But we are accustomed to throwing people away. We want to remove our growing fear of weakness and vulnerability; but by doing so we increase in the elderly the anxiety of being poorly tolerated and neglected.  Once as a child, a grandmother told us the story of an old grandfather who got dirty while eating because he couldn't easily bring the spoonful of soup to his mouth. And his son, that is, the father of the family, had decided to move him from the dinner table and set up a little table in the kitchen to eat alone, so he couldn’t be seen. In this way he wouldn’t make a bad impression when friends came over to lunch or dinner. A few days later, he came home and found his youngest child playing with some wood and a hammer and nails, he was making something there, he said: “What are you making? — I’m making a table, papa. — A table, why? — To have one for when you grow old, so that you can eat there”. Children are more aware than we are!  Our elders are men and women, fathers and mothers, who came before us on our own road, in our own house, in our daily battle for a worthy life. They are men and women from whom we have received so much. The elder is not an alien. We are that elder: in the near or far future, but inevitably, even if we don’t think it. And if we don’t learn how to treat the elder better, that is how we will be treated.