Pope Francis begins his six-day visit to Canada following invitations from indigenous communities to visit his land Apologize for abuses at Catholic boarding schools During the so-called ‘process of assimilation’ in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Ita Airways company flight took off from Fiumicino Airport at 9:00 AM and would then reach Edmonton. a journey of more than ten hours, It is expected that on this occasion, as in 1984, when John Paul II also visited Canada, Francis accompanied the Vatican delegation and about 70 journalists who traveled with him for this visit at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Sunday Angelus will pray. ,
On this occasion, it was decided that upon arrival in Edmonton, after an official welcome by the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, the first indigenous person in the position, Pope, 85, Rest All Day,
Francisco, who in the last days reappeared in a wheelchair Due to his knee problems that prevent him from walking, he will kick off the official agenda on Monday with a visit to a residential school in Muscovasis, where he will meet indigenous peoples – First Nations, Metis and Inuit – and give his first speech. Which will be in Spanish.
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, up to 139 schools were built, financed and administered by the government, most of which were run by the Catholic Church, with about 139 schools. 150,000 indigenous children what were separated from their familiesForced to give up their languages, traditions and culture.
In the afternoon you will go to the Church of the Sacred Heart, where will meet with the indigenous population and accompanied by members of the parish community and there he would bless the image dedicated to Saint Kateri Tekquitha, the first North American indigenous woman recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
at the Commonwealth Stadium on 26 July Mass celebration for the Catholic communitywhich represents 44% of the population, and in the afternoon will visit Lake Saint-Anne, west of Edmonton, a place of pilgrimage and considered sacred to the native people.
On 27 July he will travel to Quebec, where Will meet Governor and Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, and a day later he would visit the National Sanctuary of Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre, the site of John Paul II’s first meeting with indigenous peoples in 1984.
On the final day, Francis will tackle the farthest voyage ever made by a pontiff: Iqaluit, which in the Inuktitut language means ‘place of many fish’, is located 186 miles south of the Arctic Circle and is the longest in Canada. Home to a large Inuit community. About 4,000 people out of a total of about 8,000 residents.
Over 1,000 bodies found in these boarding schools
In September 2021, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) apologized for the church’s role in the abuse in boarding schools for Indigenous peoples in Canada. Over 1,000 buried bodies discovered Many of these schools for tribals.
“We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada (…) take this opportunity to confirm to the native inhabitants of this land that We acknowledge the pain we experienced In Indian residential schools in Canada,” he said, before admitting that “many Catholic religious communities and dioceses participated in this system, which led to the suppression of indigenous languages, culture and spirituality.
,We recognize the serious abuses that were committed by some members of our Catholic community, both physical and psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural and sexual,” the organization said, which also recognized the “legacy of historical and persistent trauma and suffering and the challenges faced by indigenous peoples”. .
