Rome (Italy). From 24 to 30 July 2022, Pope Francis will make his 37th apostolic journey to Canada, where he will visit the cities of Edmonton, Maskwacis, Québec, and Iqaluit. This is the fourth visit of a Pope to Canada, after that of Saint John Paul II in 2002.
The trip, announced on 13 May 2022, follows a meeting of the Holy Father with a representation of the indigenous First Nations, Métis, and Inuit populations, received in the Vatican from March 28 to June 1 2022.
At the Angelus of 17 July 2022, the Pope addressed all the inhabitants of the country, expressing the reasons for his going out from the Vatican and the desire to walk together with the populations:
“Dear brothers and sisters of Canada, as you know I will come among you above all in the name of Jesus to meet and embrace the indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, in Canada many Christians, including some members of religious institutes, contributed to cultural assimilation policies in the past that severely damaged native communities in various ways.
For this reason, I recently received in the Vatican some groups, representatives of indigenous peoples, to whom I expressed my pain and solidarity for the evil they have suffered. And now I am about to make a penitential pilgrimage, which I hope that with the grace of God, will contribute to the path of healing and reconciliation already undertaken.”
“Walking together” is the motto of the trip, expressed in English and French, the official languages of Canada. The logo was created by the indigenous artist Shaun Vincent who was inspired by nature, in particular by the land of his family, drawing the graphic symbols and signs that characterize it.
The program of the visit includes a combination of public and private events, with a special accent on indigenous participation. Scheduled for 24 July, Sunday is the arrival at the International Airport of Edmonton, where there will be the official welcome. On 25 July, the Pope is expected at Maskwacis, 70 km to the South of Edmonton, where he will meet with the indigenous populations of First Nations, Métis e Inuit.
On 26 July, Feast Saints Joachim and Anna, deeply felt by the indigenous peoples, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at the ‘Commonwealth Stadium’ and in the evening he will participate in the “Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage”, the pilgrimage in honor of St. Anne on the banks of Lac Ste. Anne, west of Edmonton.
On 27 July, the Holy Father will move on to Québec, where he will be received with a Welcome Ceremony at the Residence of the Governor General, in “Citadelle de Québec”, and meet with the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Civil Authorities, the representatives of the Indigenous Peoples, and the Diplomatic Corps. Still in Québec on 28 July, he will celebrate the Eucharist at the National Shrine of Sainte Anne de Beaupré and Vespers with the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Persons, Seminarians, and Pastoral Workers at Notre Dame Cathedral in Quebec.
On the morning of 29 July, he will have a private meeting with the members of the Society of Jesus and subsequently with a Delegation of Indigenous people present in Québec, at the Archbishopric, before leaving by plane for Iqaluit, south of the Arctic Circle. There the Pope will have the private meeting with some pupils of the former residential schools, established between the end of the 19th century and the last decades of the 20th century by the Canadian government and entrusted to the local Christian Churches, including the Catholic one, to assimilate the indigenous children culturally. The last meeting, before the Farewell Ceremony at Iqaluit Airport and the return to Rome, will be with young people and the elderly.
“We pray that this pilgrimage will be another significant step in the long journey of healing, reconciliation, and hope”, are the words of the Catholic Archbishop of Edmonton, Msgr. Richard Smith, General Coordinator of the Pope’s visit to Canada.
In the Angelus Pope Francis, thanking in advance for the preparatory work and for the welcome that the Canadian people will give him, asks as is his custom, to be accompanied on this journey with prayer.
