MASQUATSIS, Alberta (AP) — Pope Francis arrived Monday at the site of a former indigenous school to issue a long-awaited apology for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s policy of forced assimilation of indigenous peoples into Christian society, resulting in generations of trauma and abuse .
Clasping his hands under his chin, Francis prayed at the cemetery near the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, now largely destroyed, before being escorted by four chiefs to a gathering of thousands of indigenous peoples. After a traditional local hand drummer played and sang to welcome Francis, the pope prayed in silence and the sun peeked out after a rainy morning.
One of the event’s hosts, Chief Randy Ermineskin of the Ermineskin Cree Nation, waited for the pope in a nearby parking lot and took stock of the day’s historic significance.
“My late family members are no longer here with us, my parents went to boarding school, I went to boarding school,” he told The Associated Press, wearing a traditional Cree headdress. “I know they’re with me, they’re listening, they’re watching.”
Many in the crowd wore traditional clothing, including skirts with ribbons and waistcoats with local motifs. Others donned the orange shirts that have become a symbol of boarding school survivors, recalling the story of one woman who recalled having her favorite orange shirt, given to her by her grandmother, confiscated upon arrival at boarding school and replaced with a uniform.
Upon his arrival Sunday in Albert’s capital, Edmonton, Francis was greeted by representatives of Canada’s three main indigenous groups – First Nations, Métis and Inuit – along with political and church dignitaries. At the welcome ceremony, Francis kissed the hand of residential school survivor Elder Alma Desjarlais of the Frog Lake First Nations, a gesture of humility and respect he has used in the past when meeting with Holocaust survivors.
The Canadian government has acknowledged that physical and sexual abuse was widespread in government-funded Christian schools that operated from the 19th century to the 1970s. About 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to attend in an attempt to isolate them from the influence of their homes, indigenous languages and cultures and assimilate them into Canada’s Christian society.
Catholic religious orders ran 66 of Canada’s 139 boarding schools, where thousands of children died from disease, fire and other causes.
Francis’ six-day trip — which will include other locations in Alberta as well as Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, in the far north — follows meetings he held in the spring at the Vatican with First Nations, Métis and Inuit delegations. These meetings culminated in a historic apology on April 1 for the “deplorable” abuses committed by some Catholic missionaries in residential schools.
America’s first pope was determined to make the trip even though torn knee ligaments forced him to cancel a visit to Africa earlier this month. Francis, 85, called it a “penitential pilgrimage” to help the Catholic Church reconcile with indigenous peoples and help them heal from what Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission said was “cultural genocide.”
The same commission report called on Francis to apologize for abuses on Canadian soil, a request he fulfilled with the trip.
Thousands of children died from disease, fires and other causes. The discoveries of hundreds of potential graves in former schools in the past year have drawn international attention to the heritage of schools in Canada and their counterparts in the United States.
Maskwacis, about an hour south of Edmonton, is the center of four Cree nations.
Organizers of the event said they will do everything possible to ensure survivors can attend the event. Many will travel from park-and-ride locations, and organizers recognize that many survivors are elderly and will need accessible vehicles, diabetic-friendly snacks and other amenities.
Catholics ran most of the Canadian schools, while various Protestant denominations ran others in cooperation with the government.
As part of a court settlement involving the government, churches and an estimated 90,000 surviving students, Canada paid billions of dollars in reparations, which were transferred to local communities. The Canadian Catholic Church says its dioceses and religious orders have provided more than $50 million in cash and in-kind donations and hope to add another $30 million over the next five years.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last year apologized for the “incredibly harmful government policy” in organizing the boarding school system, will also attend the Maskwacis event along with other government officials.
In Maskwacis, the former school where Francis attended has been replaced by a school system run by the four local Cree nations. The curriculum affirms indigenous culture that was once suppressed.
Chief Greg Desjarlais of the Frog Lake First Nation in northern Alberta, a school survivor, said after the pope’s arrival Sunday that there were “mixed emotions in this country” during his visit.
“I’m thinking today about the young people who didn’t make it home and are buried around the dormitories,” he told a press conference after the welcome ceremony at the airport. But he expressed optimism that the visit could begin to lead to reconciliation.
“I know when two people apologize, we feel better,” he said. “But our people have been through a lot. … Our people are traumatized. Some of them did not make it home. Now I hope the world will understand why our people are so hurt.”
On Monday afternoon, Francis is scheduled to visit First Nations Sacred Heart Church, a Catholic parish in Edmonton focused on Indigenous peoples and culture. The church, whose sanctuary was consecrated last week after being rebuilt from a fire, incorporates the local language and customs into the liturgy.
“I never in my life thought I’d see a pope here at Sacred Heart Church,” said Fernie Marty, who holds the title of church elder. “And now we get that opportunity.”
When Francis visits, the church will display the clothes, bread and other supplies it regularly provides to those in need, including many of Edmonton’s local urban population of an estimated 75,000 people.
The visit will be an “encounter” that will help “people understand what we are, who we are,” said his pastor, Rev. Jesu Sousai.
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Associated Press reporters Rob Gillis in Toronto contributed to this report.
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Associated Press religion coverage is supported through AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP bears all responsibility for this content.
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