VIDA ASCENDENTE AND THE APOSTOLATE OF THE ELDERS IN SPAIN

Pope Francis gave us a clear message at the "The wealth of many Years" congress, held at the end of January in Rome:"Help  your bishops and your dioceses to promote pastoral service  to the elderly and with  the elderly".

Vida Ascendente Spain, at the last meeting of its Permanent Committee, held by videoconference, following the suggestions of its national advisor, Father Ignacio Figueroa, began to draw the lines of what will be a support of the Movement to the Church in the creation of the pastoral care of the elderly in the Spanish dioceses.

In a first analysis of demographic evolution, it was seen that with older people who are increasingly long-lived and healthy, but often alone, the percentage of the elderly population has gone from 15% to 30% in less than 50 years.

In the pastoral care of elderly, four situations of the elders were considered:

• The elder in the residences: It requires coordination with the chaplains of the residences, training of a volunteering and the creation of groups within the residence.
• The lonely elder loner in his own house, or in danger of being left alone: It is necessary to establish a protocol for their identification and the creation of a volunteering trained in providing accompaniment and incorporating them into community religious life.
• The largest incorporated into Ascending Life, incorporated into ecclesial life and cooperating in Catechesis, Caritas,: It is necessary to visualize the active role of the older person in the exercise of the apostolate and the support it provides in liturgical and sacramental tasks.
• The elder who does not know Christ, is not linked to the Church: This is a very propitious time for the proclamation of the gospel. The problem of isolation and loneliness can be illuminated by the light of Christ.

Jaime Tamarit