Pope Francis apologizes for excluding Canadian communities, including Winnipeg, during pilgrimage

Pope Francis has apologized for not being able to attend multiple Canadian communities, including Winnipeg, during his penitential pilgrimage to apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system.

Speaking to residential school survivors in Maskwacis, Alta. Monday morning, the Pope said the pilgrimage would not allow him to accept the many invitations to speak in several communities, specifically mentioning Winnipeg, Kamloops, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and various places in Saskatchewan.

“Nonetheless, please know that all of you are in my thoughts and in my prayer. Know that I am aware of the sufferings and traumas, the difficulties and challenges, experienced by the Indigenous peoples in every region of this country,” Pope Francis said to the gathered crowd speaking through a translator in Spanish. “The words that I speak throughout this penitential journey are meant for every native community and person. I embrace all of you with affection.”

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said the Vatican selected the cities based on the length of the trip, the vast size of Canada, and the health of the 85-year-old pontiff.

Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, general coordinator of the trip for the conference, said the Pope is limited in how he can travel. He can no longer ride in helicopters and he cannot be in a vehicle for more than an hour. He must also rest in between events.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs reacted positively to the apology.

"The apology issued by Pope Francis on our Nations' ancestral lands is a step for many towards healing,” said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Acting Grand Chief Cornell McLean in a statement.

“It has been over a year since discovering over a thousand unmarked graves of children on Indian Residential School grounds, and we are still mourning them. An apology does not ease the pain of lost children who never returned home, or the legacy First Nations carry as the survivors, their children, and their grandchildren. However, we encourage the Church to move forward in the spirit of reconciliation by making concrete commitments and true reparations going forward."

Call to Action #58 as set out by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for an apology from the Pope for the church’s role “in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools.” The call to action also added the apology should be delivered by the Pope in Canada.

Pope Francis initially apologized in the Vatican in April.

Following the Pope’s initial apology in April, Phil Fontaine, the former chief of the Assembly of First Nations, was hoping Pope Francis would make his Canadian apology in Winnipeg.

Mayor Brian Bowman also echoed Fontaine’s support for an apology in Winnipeg, saying it would be an ideal location, given the community’s robust efforts on reconciliation and human rights.

“Winnipeg is home to the largest population of Indigenous peoples in Canada, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights,” he said in a statement in April.

The Manitoba Metis Federation had also called for a papal visit to Winnipeg.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, had wanted the Pope to visit Saskatchewan, which is where many of the country’s residential schools were located.

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs called for the Pope to visit the site of the Kamloops Residential School, where multiple potential unmarked graves were discovered in 2021.

In addition to Edmonton, the Pope will visit Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, before leaving Canada on July 29.

-With files from CTV’s Josh Crabb and Michael Lee.

If you are a former residential school survivor in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.