Pope Francis is set to arrive in Quebec City today as part of his ongoing “pilgrimage of repentance” undertaken to promote reconciliation and healing between the Roman Catholic Church and domestic survivors in Canada.
He will be in the Quebec City area until Friday as part of a week-long trip to Canada before making his final leg of the trip to Iqaluit.
The Pope is due to arrive in Quebec City around 3 p.m. at Jean Lesage International Airport. Those wishing to catch a glimpse of the pontiff during his drive through Old Quebec can stop along De l’Aéroport Road or along the Grande Allée next to the Plains of Abraham from Boulevard Bougainville to the Citadel.
The pope is expected to meet with Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Citadel before preparing his public address. Organizers moved events at the Citadel to 4:40 p.m. to ensure Indigenous leaders and guests on a delayed charter flight from Edmonton could attend the ceremony.
His address will be broadcast on giant screens to crowds on the Plains of Abraham. The screens will be located behind the Manège militaire de Québec and in front of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
The sites on the plains can accommodate up to 160,000 people.
Pope Francis is then expected to take a popemobile tour across the plains along Avenue George VI East before his motorcade heads to the Archdiocese of Quebec, not far from the Château Frontenac Hotel.
Preparations for the Pope’s address are underway in the Plains of Abraham. (Colin Cotte-Paulet/Radio-Canada)
Musical performances by First Nation, Inuit and Quebec artists will also take place on the plains starting at 1:30 p.m. and are expected to continue until 7 p.m.
A group of 13 residential school survivors are due to arrive in the Plains on Wednesday afternoon, after a seven-day, 275-kilometre trek from the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Once there, they will share their experiences on stage.
The community is home to Quebec’s last residential school, Pointe-Bleue, which closed in 1991. The survivors are from the Innu, Anishinaabe, Naskapi, Wendat and Atikamekw nations.
Hundreds flock to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré ahead of the papal visit
On Thursday, the pope will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, about 30 kilometers northeast of Quebec City.
Hundreds of local community members and delegates visited the basilica on Tuesday morning for the Catholic feast of St Anne. Every summer, hundreds travel to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré for the pilgrimage, even busier this year with the upcoming mass.
Florence Penashu was at the basilica with her 94-year-old grandmother, Mary Odell Penashu, and said it was her third time making the pilgrimage.
Florence Penachew’s 94-year-old grandmother, Mary Odell Penachew, has made the annual summer pilgrimage many times. (Sandra Hercegova/CBC)
“I hope everyone will just forgive each other, forgive each other and love each other like Jesus said,” said Penashue, who came with her grandmother all the way from Sheschatsiu, the Netherlands
“I am very happy to be here, that God gave me a chance to be here with my grandmother,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“To me, that means he wants to reconcile, restore what’s broken and apologize to the indigenous people,” she added.
Joe Peastitute said it was important for him to attend Tuesday’s Mass because he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be here. He is staying in Quebec City for medical attention after suffering a stroke and a broken leg.
Joe Pistitute is ready to hear what the pope has to say, but said he doesn’t have high hopes. (Sandra Hercegova/CBC)
“I want to see what he’s going to do for the people,” said Peastitute of the Kawawachikamach Nation about 15 kilometers northeast of Schaeferville, Que. But he said he doesn’t have high hopes.
“As a people, we’ve lost quite a bit,” he said. “I just want to pray for my people and the people I lost, my parents, my grandparents, that’s why I came here.
Thursday’s Mass will be held in Spanish, the pope’s native language, with English and French subtitles on outdoor screens. People can also watch the liturgy on the papal visit website, which will have live translation of the event in 12 local languages.
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