Pope Francis is on a six-day tour of Canada aimed at reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples for the Roman Catholic Church's role in residential schools.Â
Here are the latest developments on his stops today in Alberta (all times are MST):
5:10 p.m.
Pope Francis says he is happy to visit an Edmonton church that welcomes Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
He says the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples is a place for all, just as the Catholic Church should be.
He also spoke of his apology earlier in the day for the church's role in residential schools in Canda.
He says it pains him to think that Catholics contributed to policies of assimilation that robbed people of their culture and identity.
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4:50 p.m.
Pope Francis has been greeting by drummers and singing at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton.
Some wiped tears from their eyes as the pontiff was wheeled into the downtown building.
Francis then took a chair placed at the front of the church under wooden teepee poles.
Members of the parish told the Pope they are thrilled to receive him on his first visit to Canada.
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4:40 p.m.
Pope Francis has arrived at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton.
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4:30 p.m.
People at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton are preparing to receive Pope Francis.
They plan to give him an eagle feather, a star quilt and recreations of artwork lost in a fire at the church two years ago.
Elder Fernie Marty smudged and fanned some inside the church with an eagle feather.Â
Dozens are also gathered outside waiting for the pontiff to arrive.
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3:45 p.m.
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller says the Pope's apology to Indigenous people must be "the beginning and not the end."
He says more work must be done, including getting documents from the Catholic Church, so survivors get an element of closure and a complete picture of the residential school system.
Miller says the federal government does play a role.
2:45 p.m.
Residential school survivor Evelyn Korkmaz says she waited 50 years to hear an apology from the Roman Catholic Church and, now that the day has come, she's left wanting more.
Korkmaz, who was forced to attend the St. Anne's Indian Residential School in Fort Albany, Ont., says she's glad she lived long enough to hear the historic apology.
But she says many of her family, friends and classmates passed from suicide or addictions before they could witness it.
She says she was also hoping to hear some sort of "work plan" from the pontiff on how the church is to reconcile with Indigenous Peoples.
2:15 p.m.
Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Chief Tony Alexis says the Pope's apology has triggered an opening of a wound, and it just can't be left like that.
He has told a news conference, alongside other Treaty 6 chiefs and survivors, that "you can't just say sorry and walk away."
Frog Lake First Nation Chief Greg Desjarlais says the pontiff made his apology as meaningful as he could.
But he says Francis was able to deliver it in his mother tongue -- Spanish -- while the chief is unable to speak his people's language.
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12 p.m.
Pope Francis is leaving Maskwacis, Alta., after giving an apology for residential schools.
The pontiff spent about 90 minutes in the Indigenous community south of Edmonton.
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11:45 a.m.
A smile beamed across the face of Pope Francis as a traditional Indigenous headdress was placed on his head.
Chief Wilton Littlechild gave the pontiff the gift following his apology for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools.
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11:25 a.m.
There was applause as Pope Francis begged forgiveness for the church's role in residential schools.
The Pope says his apology is only the first step in making amends with Indigenous people in Canada and that a serious investigation must be done into the facts of what occurred in the past.
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11:20 a.m.
Pope Francis says he is deeply sorry for the effects residential schools had on Indigenous people in Canada.
He says it's important to remember the devastating policies of assimilation.
He says the policies marginalized Indigenous people and robbed them of their language and culture.
He says they indelibly affected relationships between parents and their children and grandparents and their grandchildren.
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11:10 a.m.
Pope Francis is apologizing for the church's role in residential schools.Â
He says he wants to express his sorrow and ask for forgiveness.
He says the memories of the children who never returned from residential schools has left him with a sense of "sorrow, indignation and shame."
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11 a.m.
Chief Wilton Littlechild says he hopes Pope Francis' visit will echo true healing and hope for Indigenous people in Canada.
He made the remarks ahead of was is expected to be an apology by the Pope for the church's role in the residential school system.Â
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10:45 a.m.
A red banner inscribed with the names of hundreds children who died in residential schools is being slowly walked around in front of Pope Francis.
The Pope is in Maskwacis, Alta., and is expected to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in the residential school system. Â
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10:30 a.m.
Pope Francis has arrived on the stage where he is expected to deliver to an apology for the church's role in residential schools.Â
He was wheeled from a graveyard to the stage with an entourage following behind that included Indigenous chiefs.Â
He was greeted by drumming.
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10:20 a.m.
Pope Francis held his face as he was pushed in a wheelchair to a graveyard in Maskwacis, Alta., as a traditional drummer sang nearby.Â
Francis visited the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery for a moment of silence, prayer and reflection.Â
Organizers say there are likely remains of residential school students among the graves.
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10:15 a.m.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, says the Pope's expected apology should be judged on whether the Roman Catholic Church takes action.Â
In a video posted online, Blackstock says the Vatican must release all documents related to residential schools and commit to keeping children safe around the world.Â
She says it must also provide supports to residential school survivors.Â
She says we all need to be looking at what the Pope does after.
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10 a.m.
Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand says he has brought a statue of Louis Riel to Maskwacis, Alta., to be blessed by the Pope.Â
Riel was central to the Red River and North-West resistances to assert Indigenous rights and stop the Canadian encroachment on Métis land.Â
He was executed in 1885.Â
Chartrand says he will bring the statue back to Manitoba to place at Riel's gravesite in Winnipeg.
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9:45 a.m.
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is concerned that survivors attending a scheduled mass by Pope Francis on Thursday northeast of Quebec City will not hear an apology from the pontiff.
Organizers for the Quebec leg of the papal visit have suggested that an apology is not planned while the Pope is in the province.
Indigenous leaders insist that an apology, while Francis is on the ancestral territories of Quebec survivors, must happen to allow for collective and individual healing.
Chief Ghislain Picard of the assembly says people are not travelling long distances to attend a celebration but to receive an apology for physical, psychological and spiritual abuse that has endured generation.
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9:15 a.m.
Andrew Carrier, who is a Métis day school survivor from Manitoba, says the Pope's apology is truly important for reconciliation.Â
He says it is a great opportunity to forgive and move forward.Â
Carrier says he was abused by a priest.Â
But, he says, the apology will make a great difference for himself and many other survivors.
Carrier and thousands of survivors, elders and their family have travelled to the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School at Maskwacis, Alta., to hear the Pope's expected apology.
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9 a.m.
Pope Francis is expected to apologize today for the role the Roman Catholic Church played in residential schools
Francis is scheduled to give an address while visiting the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School at Maskwacis, Alta.
Five teepees are set up at the site, with one of them representing the entrance to the former school.
Thousands of survivors, elders and their family members are to attend.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2022. Â
The Canadian Press
