THE POPE arrives in Canada to apologize to Indigenous Peoples. Courtesy photo.
From South Etobicoke across the country, most Indigenous and other people will this week be focusing on the Pope’s visit to Canada.
Pope Francis will arrive and be met by the Prime Minister and government officials at Edmonton International Airport on July 24 for a six-day reconciliation tour, where he is expected to apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system.
“It is good that His Holiness is here and it takes courage to stand up to help heal the pain brought on by the wrongdoing of others,” said long-time South Etobicoke resident Susanna. “His apology and forgiveness will take time but we must never forget the children.”
INDIGENOUS leaders react to news from The Pope about his trip to Canada. Courtesy photo.
She and many others at her church will be following the Pope’s first visit to Canada in 20 years on television. Thousands of Catholics from across the country are expected at most of his stops.
On Monday, the Pontiff will meet with residential school survivors from across Canada at Maskwacis, Alberta, home to the former Ermineskin Residential School. It is the only residential school visit.
Later that day, he will meet parishioners and Indigenous community members at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, which recently reopened after a fire in 2020.
On July 26, Pope Francis will hold a mass at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium before greeting Indigenous pilgrims at the Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage groups.
CELEBRATING THE good news of an apology to help fix the wrongs done to our First Nations. Courtesy photo.
The Pope will depart for Quebec City on July 27, where he will meet Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Citadelle of Quebec, as well as Indigenous leaders and other dignitaries.
He will also hold mass at the National Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre the following day before meeting with a Quebec Indigenous delegation and flying to Iqaluit on July 29.
At an Iqaluit primary school, the Pope will have another private meeting with Indigenous residential school survivors before attending a public community event hosted by Inuit leaders. Pope Francis is set to fly back to Rome later that evening.
Pope Francis’ visit comes after First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegations met with the Pontiff in Rome back in March to discuss reconciliation with Indigenous communities in Canada.
THE POPE has been welcomed like Royalty by Catholics in Canada. AP photo.
At the end of these series of meetings, the Pope read an apology infront of the delegates, asking for God’s forgiveness for the “deplorable conduct” of members of the Catholic Church.
Pressure on the Pope to come to Canada and issue an apology had been mounting after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops B.C. last year, which was followed by similar discoveries at numerous other former residential school sites across the country.
The Truth and Reconciliation commission found that an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children attended the residential school system, mostly by force, from the late 1800s to 1996.
Of the 139 schools in the system, more than half had been run by the Catholic Church. The commission estimates that approximately 4,100 to 6,000 children died amid abuse and neglect while in the residential school system.
The 58th call to action from the commission calls upon the Pope to issue an apology on Canadian soil for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system.