Pope recalls being called ‘Lolo Kiko’

MANILA, Philippines - Recalling how Filipinos called him “Lolo Kiko” during his visit to the country, Pope Francis has called on the faithful to listen to the elderly and learn from their wisdom.

Pope Francis made the call at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Wednesday, according to a report on CBCPNews, the official website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

“When I was in the Philippines, the Filipino people greeted me saying Lolo Kiko, meaning Grandpa Francis, Lolo Kiko, they said,” the L’Osservatore Romano daily newspaper of the Vatican quoted the pope as saying.

The 78-year-old pontiff made his first apostolic and state visit to the Philippines on Jan. 15 to19, with the theme “Mercy and Compassion.” He visited Manila and Leyte.

The pope urged the crowd at the Vatican to listen to the older generation, saying the advice of grandparents is a helpful guide for the youth, the report said.

“The first important thing to stress: it is true that society tends to throw us away, but the Lord definitely does not. The Lord never throws us away. He calls us to follow Him in every age of life, and old age has a grace and a mission too, a true vocation from the Lord. Old age is a vocation,” the pope said.

“How beautiful is the encouragement an elderly person manages to pass on to a young person, who is seeking the meaning of faith and of life. It is truly the mission of grandparents, the vocation of the elderly. Grandparents’ words have something special for the young,” he added.

The pontiff said he treasures his grandmother’s letter to him on the day of his ordination that he keeps in his breviary because “it does him good.”

The pope said the prayers of older people are “a great gift” for the families and for the Church. He said their prayers also offer “a great infusion of wisdom for all of society, especially for those who are too busy, occupied and distracted.

“In prayer, they thank the Lord for his blessings, otherwise so often unacknowledged; they intercede for the hopes and needs of the young. They lift up to God the memory and sacrifices of past generations,” the Holy Father said.

“How I would like a Church that challenges today’s throwaway culture with a joyful new embrace between the young and the old,” he added.