Thousands of Indigenous persons are expected to converge Monday on the small Alberta prairie community of Maskwacis to hear a long-awaited apology from Pope Francis for generations of abuse and cultural suppression at Catholic residential schools across Canada.
Francis is scheduled to arrive in mid-morning at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, now largely torn down. He will pause at the sites of the former school and nearby cemetery before speaking in a large open area to school survivors, their relatives and other supporters.
Francis’ six-day trip — which will also include other sites in Alberta, Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, in the far north — follows meetings he held in the spring at the Vatican with delegations from the First Nations, Metis and Inuit. Those meetings culminated with a historic April 1 apology for the “deplorable” abuses committed by some Catholic missionaries in residential schools.
Catholics operated a majority of the Canadian schools, while various Protestant denominations operated others in cooperation with the government. A six-person drum circle from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation perfoms to welcome Pope Francis Sunday, July 24, 2022, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. “I do know when two people have apologized we feel better,” he said. “But our people have been through a lot. ... Our people have been traumatized. Some of them didn’t make it home. Now I hope the world will see why our people are so hurt.”
On Monday afternoon, Francis is scheduled to visit Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, a Catholic parish in Edmonton oriented toward Indigenous people and culture. The church, whose sanctuary was dedicated last week after being restored from a fire, incorporates Indigenous language and customs in liturgy.
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