There is a wall in the Liverpool home of Rene and Zenaida Evangelista featuring a collection that their grandson knows by heart. Crucifixes gathered from all over the world hang there, and every night the couple stand before it to pray.
As a boy, Koe Evangelista would sometimes stop and study it, tracing where each one had come from, not yet understanding the devotion behind the treasured items, only that they mattered to the two people who mattered most to him. It was in front of that wall, and in the steady refrain that came with it, that Koe would later trace the rescue of his own faith.
“There was a stretch in high school when I had quietly walked away. I got myself into trouble and stopped wanting to call myself Catholic at all,” he recalled.
He didn’t talk about any of it with his parents, but his grandparents, particularly his grandmother, kept saying the same small thing, again and again.
“They just constantly said, ‘”don’t forget to pray.'”
Zenaida, a catechist for more than 25 years, and still teaching today, had no way of knowing how far her grandson had drifted. Yet her reminder kept coming. And when his life finally turned a corner, the explanation she offered was always the same.
“I was praying for you.”
In 2023, Koe was chosen as the Oceania youth representative for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, and travelled to Rome for the celebration at St Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis offered the Mass. His grandparents were with him in spirit in that basilica and when news of it reached home, Zenaida cut the article from the newspaper and framed it.
“She’s proud,” he says. “For me, that’s so heartwarming, especially because it’s tied to our faith.”
This year’s World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, the sixth since Pope Francis instituted it in 2021, falls on Sunday 26 July, the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.
The theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV is drawn from the prophet Isaiah: “I will never forget you” (Is 49:15), a promise, the Holy Father writes, that God’s love forgets no-one, not even in the frailty of old age.
In his message, Pope Leo urged the young, in particular, to “revive the beautiful custom” of visiting their grandparents and elderly relatives, and even those who have no-one to visit them at all. It is, almost word for word, the answer Koe gives when asked what young people can do.
“Showing up and being present is the most important thing,” he says.
“The most powerful thing we can do is pray for them and visit them. It doesn’t have to be organised. Even a quick call means the world.”
About Rene and Zenaida, Koe says, “I just want to thank them for everything.”
“They’re the glue of our family. There’s nothing but love in their house. It’s just so nice that whenever I’m in their presence, I know I’m also in the presence of God.”
Koe’s own parish, All Saints Catholic Parish Liverpool, will mark the day with a dedicated Grandparents Day Mass with Rene and Zenaida front and centre.
“Their example is something I’ll carry for the rest of my life,” he says. “I owe my faith to them.”
Koe believes their prayers not only kept his faith alive but quietly pointed him toward his life’s work. Today, as an officer with Sydney Catholic Youth at the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, Koe does for other young Sydneysiders what Rene and Zenaida did for him: he shows up, keeps the faith alive, and helps it take root in those who might otherwise lose it.
The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated on Sunday 26 July 2026. Parishes around the world are encouraged to celebrate this important day.
Tell us how you’re celebrated in your own community and send a photo of yourself or your family to cweditor@catholicweekly.com.au for a chance to be included in a future article.
Learn more at here.
