Pope Francis meeting with with Indigenous Peoples: First Nations, Métis and Inuit in Maskwacis, AB

“I have been waiting to come here and be with you! Here, from this place associated with painful memories, I would like to begin what I consider a pilgrimage, a penitential pilgrimage. I have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow, to implore God’s forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you.”

“Today I am here, in this land that, along with its ancient memories, preserves the scars of still open wounds. I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry. Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.” Pope Francis in Maskwacis July 25, 2022

Full text of Pope Francis’ address is available here: VATICAN Dicastero per la Comunicazione

Our Provincial Fr. Ken Thorson OMI was in attendance at the gathering of Pope Francis with the Indigenous People in Maskwacis #WalkingTogether He shares some images from this moving gathering…