Pope Francis on Sunday instituted a “World day for Grandparents and the Elderly” in the Roman Catholic Church to be marked once a year to honour them and to underscore their importance to society.

Francis, making the announcement at his Sunday noon address, said it would be marked on the fourth Sunday of July each year in Catholic communities around the world.

The Church already has a World Day of Peace.

Francis, 84, has often called on society to cherish the elderly as a source of wisdom and experience and has lamented a “throwaway culture” that puts them aside because they are no longer productive.