By Katie Engesser
Carolyn O’Hare is a staple in her granddaughter’s life. She made sure her granddaughters, no matter how busy their weekend was, always went to church. She passed along her faith – a strong relationship in prayer that Pope Francis hopes all grandparents will have with their grandchildren.
“I thought that it was important, not that their family doesn’t do a good job, but to be active in their life for religion,” she said.
At the World Meeting Of Families last August, the Holy Father made a plea that families make sure grandparents not be forgotten.
“No family can grow if it forgets its roots. Children will not grow in love if they do not learn how to converse with their grandparents. So let your love sink deep roots!,” said the Holy Father.
[Related: Sharing The Faith With Your Grandchildren]
In Brooklyn, that message is being heard. Deacon Armand D’accordo is the Spiritual Director of Brooklyn’s Catholic Grandparents Association, a group that advises grandparents on how to pass on their faith.
“Basically, it’s to let the grandparents of our diocese know that they have a mission and a vocation to spread their faith to their grandchildren,” he said.
Carolyn was on hand to answer whatever questions about god the girls posed. And as a Sunday school teacher for almost fifteen years, she has plenty of answers.
“She’s always brought her work over or whenever I was there she’d be grading papers and I’d always be like ‘oh, what are you doing?’ and then that’s how it kind of started,” said her granddaughter Nina.
“I feel like if she wasn’t always pushing for me to go to church and just having her CC-D program and me working with her- I feel like I wouldn’t be as strong rooted in my faith as I am now,” she continued.