Pope Francis: The pontiff’s ‘pilgrimage of penance’ to Canada

Pope Francis is also expected to visit Lac Ste Anne, the site of a major annual pilgrimage – one of the largest Catholic gatherings in western Canada – in a prominent First Nations and Métis community.

On Wednesday, he will deliver a public address in Quebec City following a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon, the first indigenous person to hold that position.

Pope Francis will celebrate Mass the following day in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, a pilgrimage site for Roman Catholics on the Saint Lawrence River, with 15,000 guests expected to be in attendance.

The Pope’s visit will end with a flight to Iqaluit in Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut, where he is expected to speak privately with residential school survivors and attend a public community event.

Canada’s indigenous leaders welcomed the Pope’s apology in Rome, but many hope the pontiff will now expand on his historic remarks.

Crystal Gail Fraser, a Gwichyà Gwich’in assistant professor of history and native studies at the University of Alberta, said the Pope’s visit was “significant”, and followed decades of activism and calls for accountability from indigenous communities.

The discovery of the unmarked graves, she added, is a big reason why the trip is happening now.

Ms Fraser, who also sits on the governing circle of Canada’s National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, said she will be looking for more than just an apology from Pope Francis.

“Like many other times in Canadian history, we have seen apologies come and go,” Ms Fraser said. “So for me, I’m going to be looking for the actions of the Catholic Church next.”

This includes compensation for survivors and releasing documents about former staff and clergy who operated the schools, she said.

“We’re still in the pursuit of truth,” Ms Fraser said.

Some indigenous leaders want the Catholic Church to renounce a doctrine issued as a series of papal bulls – official documents issued by the Pope – and dating from the 1400s, saying it was used as “legal and moral justification for colonial dispossession” of indigenous people.

Pope Francis has also been criticised for failing to include Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc on his itinerary despite a formal invitation.

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs accused the Pope of showing “blatant disregard” for meaningful acknowledgement of harms done in residential schools.

But given the Pope’s “advanced age and the size of Canada”, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, tasked with planning his visit, said it focused on “a targeted group of communities” despite several requests to visit sites across the country.

Pope Francis has recently faced health issues, and has been using a wheelchair since May. Ongoing problems with his knee forced him to cancel a recent trip to Africa.