“Many of the people in my parish struggle: ‘My children aren’t going to church. They’re not involved anymore.’ We want to communicate through this show that your witness, your faithfulness, is not in vain.”

The speaker is Father James Mallon, a parish priest and host of the EWTN series Grandparents.

Father Mallon wants to reassure grandparents: “Your faithfulness makes a huge difference … even if you may not see it in this world.”

This 11-part series, which EWTN is airing as part of the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly, airs at 6 a.m. ET, Monday, May 19 through Friday, May 30 (except Sunday, May 18).

Father Mallon opens the series, which he hosts with journalist Nicole Snook and Deacon Larry Worthen and highlights the real-life experiences of 11 families, by recognizing the struggles grandparents face in today’s toxic culture. “The things we used to do to pass on the faith often don’t work anymore,” he says.

The first episode features Kelly-Ann and her grandfather, Basil Myer.

Kelly-Ann explains how she witnessed the love her grandfather had for Our Lady, including through the Rosary.

“[O]ne night I sat in my bed and I decided that I was going to pray the Rosary for my family. And so, I began to do it, and I had this vision of my grandfather sitting at the Lord’s feet praying the Rosary with me, and it became something that I could do with him.”

Kelly-Ann adds, “My Grampy was to me a perfect example of what relationship with the Lord looks like and what it means to be a child of God. And so in my own life, I try to model myself after him. I try to be as faithful as he was and do the things that he did.”

Each real-life segment also features stories of “Grandparent Saints.” Episode 1 introduces viewers to St. Philip Howard and his grandson, Blessed William Howard, who were both martyred during England’s Reformation.

The series presents grandparents as witnesses, whether through bold “red martyrdom” or the quiet “white martyrdom” of daily fidelity, often in the face of tyranny.

“Our personal holiness is the most important gift we can give our grandchildren,” Deacon Worthen says.

Viewers are invited to join the “great cloud of witnesses,” trusting that our faith echoes eternally. Tune into EWTN to discover how your prayers and presence can transform your grandchildren’s lives, one faithful moment at a time.

Note: The “Grandparents” 11-part series is available for purchase at https://bit.ly/43h9dtk. Also airing this week, in tribute to the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly, is Jeanne Jugan: Yesterday and Today, a look at the life and ministry of the Little Sisters of the Poor, founded by Jeanne Jugan, with a special emphasiss on hospitality, particularly towards the elderly. Airs 5:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, May 21, and 2:30 a.m. ET, Thursday, May 22.

Michelle Laque Johnson is director of communications at the EWTN Global Catholic Network and author of Walking the Way of the Cross for Caregivers; this is a shortened adaptation from the “EWTN Wings” weekly programming email. To have info about EWTN shows and specials sent directly to your inbox, sign up at EWTN.com/wings.