Vatican City, Jul 1, 2014 / 07:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Pontifical Council for the Family is organizing a day dedicated to the elderly, during which Pope Francis will meet with them as sign of the important role they play in a society that lives longer.

“The day is based on the assumption that old age is not a shipwreck but a vocation,” Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said in a statement posted on the council’s website announcing the initiative.