LES COMBES -- Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday praised the role that grandparents play in children's education, saying they keep fundamental family values alive.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church said grandparents were increasingly important in the upbringing of youngsters, during a sermon in Les Combes, northern Italy, where he was on holiday.

"The duty of grandparents to educate is very important and it becomes even more so when, for a variety of reasons, parents are not in the position to spend enough time with their children," he told several thousand worshippers.

Grandparents uphold "life's fundamental values," he added.

It was the second Sunday sermon that the German-born pope, who is 82, has given since breaking a wrist on July 17.

He raised his arm, still clad in a plaster, apparently without difficulty to bless the pilgrims and worshippers.

Doctors visited Pope Benedict on Saturday for a check-up and reported his injury was healing well, according to the Vatican.