I will go to Canada in the name of Jesus to embrace the indigenous peoples

This Sunday, after the angel’s prayer, Pope Francis confirmed that his apostolic trip to Canada next week would be a “journey of penance” and that he would go “in the name of Jesus to meet and embrace the aborigines.”

The pope is scheduled to travel to the Canadian cities of Edmonton, Quebec and Iqaluit from July 24-29. There he will meet members of Canadian Indigenous groups, survivors of abuse in boarding schools, and Catholics.

“Next Sunday, God willing, I will leave for Canada: for this reason I would now like to address all the inhabitants of that country. Brothers and sisters of Canada, as you know, I will go among you above all in the name of Jesus to meet and embrace the aborigines,” said the Holy Father on 17 July.

Pope Francis acknowledged that “unfortunately, in Canada, many Christians, including some members of seminaries, have contributed to policies of cultural assimilation that, in the past, have seriously harmed, in various ways, indigenous communities.”

He also noted that for this reason, at the beginning of April 2022, he received at the Vatican some representative groups of Indigenous Canadians, “to whom I expressed my pain and solidarity with the evil they suffered.”

“Now I’m about to create a file pilgrimage of repentanceWhich I hope, by God’s grace, will contribute to the path of healing and reconciliation that has begun.”

Finally, he thanked and greeted everyone who was preparing for the trip and asked for prayer.

“I thank you in advance for all the preparations and the welcome you are making for me. Thank you all! I ask you to accompany me in prayer.”

Pope Francis is expected to issue an apology in Canada on behalf of the Catholic Church for abuses committed against Indigenous students in Catholic-run boarding schools.

Canadian bishops said last year they would welcome Francis’ visit as a “pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation”.