Vatican announces Pope Francis to visit Canada in July

The Vatican has formally announced that Pope Francis will make a five-day trip to Canada this summer.

The papal visit will include stops in Quebec, Alberta, and Nunavut, and the capital cities of Quebec City, Edmonton, and Iqaluit, will act as bases for the trip on July 24 to 29.

The visit comes after Pope Francis’s historic apology last month for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he welcomes the news and looks forward to having the pontiff deliver the apology directly to Indigenous communities this summer.

“This would be an important – and necessary – step for the Roman Catholic Church to continue engaging in dialogue with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in order to advance meaningful reconciliation for Indigenous Peoples in our country,” said Trudeau in a statement.

Francis first announced his intention to visit Canada during a meeting with Indigenous delegates at the Vatican on April 1.

“I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry,” he said at the time.

The Indigenous groups involved in the delegation also requested the church provide reparations to support healing, return Indigenous artifacts and share any documents about residential schools.

Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller says the work is not done with an apology, and from reparations to returning artifacts there is still a lot of work to do..

In May of last year, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc nation discovered unmarked graves of what are believed to be more than 200 children who were found near the site of a former residential school. Chief Rosanne Casimir is not pleased her community is not involved in the trip after she hand delivered an invitation at the Vatican.

“I am disappointed,” she says. “I’m still holding on to a hair of hope that maybe he may change his mind.”

Specific sites and a formal program for the Pope’s trip are to be developed later with Indigenous partners. The pontiff is “expected to visit the site of a former residential school and other locations of particular significance,” according to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Vatican chose the locations with the Pope’s health issues and mobility taken into consideration. The 85-year-old Francis has been limited by a nagging knee problem and appeared in public in a wheelchair for the first time last week.

Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton will act as a general coordinator for the visit.

“I am humbled to serve as general coordinator for this historic visit from Pope Francis,” says Smith.

“I look forward to working with Indigenous Peoples from across this land, as well as local, provincial and federal partners, as we prepare to welcome the holy father and continue to walk together on this important healing and reconciliation journey.”

Smith accompanied Indigenous delegates on a trip to the Vatican earlier this year.

With files from The Canadian Press