Pope Francis will continue his pastoral visit to Canada on Wednesday by going to Quebec. A plane carrying the Pope has departed Edmonton and is heading to Quebec for the next part of his reconciliation visit.
An event at the Citadel of Quebec with the pontiff is pushed back an hour due to a delay involving a flight carrying native leaders.
Organizers said the event is now scheduled to begin at 4:40 p.m. The Pope’s tour of the Plains of Abraham is now scheduled to begin around 6:15 p.m.
As of 10:00 a.m., several people were already installed with their folding chairs along the barriers delimiting the route that the sovereign pontiff must take aboard the popemobile on the Plains of Abraham.
Claudia Baldassarri and her partner arrived Monday from Montreal to see Pope Francis. Before the pandemic, the couple used to travel to Italy to attend the Holy Father’s Angelus.
“I have never seen this pope, other than on TV. It is a beautiful gift that the Pope gives us. I never thought I’d see it this year,” says Ms. Baldassarri, not forgetting that her passage is primarily for indigenous peoples.
“It is a mark of great respect. […] No one can be insensitive to what happened,” she adds.
Louise Michaud said she was proud of Pope Francis’ involvement in reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
“He is making great efforts to redeem what the (religious) communities have done to the children of residential schools,” says the Loretteville resident, accompanied by her two friends.
In the eyes of Omer St-Onge, a survivor of the Innu community of Maliotenam, on the North Shore, the Pope’s visit represents “a small step” in spiritual healing.
Wearing an Aboriginal hat representing courage and respect, Mr. St-Onge hopes for more than an apology. He wants concrete actions.
“It is the time that the pope decides to give us back the artifacts, the objects that were taken from us which are all in the Vatican and in the churches, documents of the young people who died. I have friends that we never saw again during residential school,” says the man whose birth name is Uapan Ushekatok, meaning Morning Star in French.
A busy schedule
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops reports that the Sovereign Pontiff will take advantage of his stay in Quebec to listen to and dialogue with representatives of Indigenous peoples and address the impact of colonization and the participation of the Catholic Church in the operation of residential schools. for Aboriginal people in Canada. His visit will also be an opportunity for the sovereign pontiff to forge ties with the Catholic community in Canada.
The head of the Catholic Church must meet with representatives of the State and then deliver a public speech on the Plains of Abraham. An animation allowing Aboriginal cultural expression will be presented on the Plains.
On Thursday, Pope Francis will travel to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré where he will celebrate Mass at 10:00 a.m. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people will be able to attend with space for guests inside and outside the basilica. A broadcast of the mass will also be offered on the Plains of Abraham.
At the end of the afternoon, the pope will go to the Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral-Basilica to meet the bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers.
On Friday morning, Pope Francis will have a private meeting at 9:00 a.m. with members of the Society of Jesus at the Archdiocese of Quebec.
Around 10:45 a.m., he will meet with a delegation of Aboriginals from Eastern Canada, which will be his last activity in Quebec.
His plane will leave Jean-Lesage International Airport at 12:45 p.m. and land at 3:50 p.m. at Iqaluit International Airport in Nunavut.
At 4:15 p.m., the Pope will speak with former students of residential schools in Iqaluit and just under an hour later, he will participate in a public event presented by Inuit.
A departure ceremony for the Pope will take place at 6:15 p.m. at the Iqaluit Airport, which will end his stay in Canada. He will then board the plane that will take him back to the Vatican.