Catholic Diocese in Cape Verde Dedicates Pastoral Year to Elderly with Focus on Missionary, Social Outreach

Fr. Borges further says the council proposed some Specific Parish actions, including “training volunteers, honouring elderly evangelizers, and holding a jubilee celebration on 26 July 2026, the liturgical feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, patrons of grandparents.”

The Chancellor further says the Diocese sees in the experience of the elderly a wealth that must be recognized and shared not only within the Church but also in family life and Cape Verdean society. 

“Each person is called to act with an explicitly missionary intention, doing something concrete for Christ, in the Church and in society,” he says.

He adds, “The Jubilee of the Elderly will unfold throughout the pastoral year in all Deaneries, with a varied program including home visits, liturgical celebrations, intergenerational testimonies, and the collection of faith stories lived by elderly people in the parishes.”

As part of the jubilee, the Catholic Priest further says, “a Diocesan Assembly has been scheduled for 2–3 June 2026, to evaluate the progress made and design new evangelization dynamics, fostering synodality and preparing the community for the 2033 jubilee.”

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“Council members unanimously assessed the final celebration of the Children’s Jubilee, held on 1 June 2025, in Praia, as one of the most significant faith events in the Diocese, with very positive repercussions on the islands and in the diaspora,” he says.

To improve internal communication in the Diocese, Fr. Borges says, “The Council approved the creation of an institutional email with its own domain, as well as the creation of the Web Parish – Parish Administration. This project is intended to allow more efficient communication between the Diocesan Curia and the parishes, and faster service to those seeking the Church’s ministries.”

He continues, “The Council reviewed the pastoral norms that guide Diocesan life and requested their publication and study by communities, groups, movements, and associations active in Diocesan ministry.”

“These pastoral norms aim to unify pastoral practice as a general guideline for the gradual growth of Christians,” Fr. Borges adds.

On Catholic Moral and Religious Education (EMRC), the Chancellor says, “The Council was informed of the increasing demand for this subject in many schools across the country. Conditions are gradually being created to meet this demand.”

“The Council encouraged those responsible to continue implementing this discipline for the integral formation of Cape Verdean children and adolescents,” he adds.

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.