Pope Francis is to meet thousands of elderly from all over the world to underscore their essential role in society, the head of the Pontifical Council for the Family said Tuesday.
"It's the first time the pope will meet the elderly to stress their indispensability" to society, Msgr Vincenzo Paglia said.
Among the 40,000 elderly will be people from Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, which recently beat back Islamic State (ISIS) militants, Paglia said.
The elderly will be accompanied by their families, he said.
"These families and persons are often forgotten, while they sustain society," he said.
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