A plane carrying Pope Francis landed in the Quebec capital on Wednesday for the next leg of what the pope described as a “penitential” Canadian trip focused on addressing the damage done to indigenous schools.
The pope left Edmonton Wednesday morning and arrived mid-afternoon in Quebec City, where he is expected to meet with Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Citadel of Quebec before making a public address to Simon.
Francis, in a wheelchair, was met on the tarmac by residential school survivors, indigenous leaders and other dignitaries, including Quebec Premier Francois Legault.
People were already setting up lawn chairs at 10 a.m. on the Plains of Abraham, where the pope is expected to greet members of the public from his popemobile later Wednesday. There was a heavy police presence on the grounds, where concerts and other artistic performances were held throughout the afternoon.
For Omer Saint-Onge, a school survivor, the pope’s visit represented a “small step” in the healing journey.
But St-Onge, who hails from the Innu community of Uashat-Maliotenam on Quebec’s north shore, said he was hoping for more than just an apology.
“It’s time for the Pope to decide to return to us artifacts, objects that were taken from us and that are all in the Vatican and in the churches, documents of young people who died,” said Saint-Onge, whose birth name is Wapan Ushekatok .
Fabien Jobert, also from Washat-Maliotenam, said he came to honor the memories of residential school survivors, including his grandmother and aunts.
“I expect an apology from the pope,” he said in an interview on the Plains of Abraham before the pope’s arrival. “I’d like to hear him do one on behalf of the church instead of just certain actors.”
Official events in Quebec were slightly delayed after a separate flight carrying organizers and indigenous leaders invited to the Citadel was delayed.
After visiting the Plains of Abraham, the Pope is due to go to the residence of the Archbishop of Quebec, where he plans to stay during his stay in the province.
On Thursday, Francis will celebrate mass at the Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre shrine, east of the city, before attending vespers with church officials at the cathedral-basilica of Notre Dame de Quebec.
On Friday, he is due to make a brief stop in Iqaluit before returning to the Vatican.
The Alberta portion of the Pope’s trip included a visit to the local community of Maskwatzis, south of Edmonton.
Standing there before residential school survivors and local leaders, he apologized for the abuses at the institutions, most of which were run by the Roman Catholic Church.
Francis also led an outdoor public Mass at Edmonton’s soccer stadium that some criticized as too traditional.
He later joined a pilgrimage at Lac Ste. Ann, northwest of Edmonton — a place of spiritual significance to many local Catholics, believed to have healing properties. Francis blessed the lake and sprinkled some of its water on the people in the crowd.
The Pope’s Twitter account posted on Tuesday, after the visit to the place of worship, that “as a Church, we must all be healed of the temptation to choose to defend the institution instead of seeking the truth.”
“With God’s help, let us contribute to the building of a Mother Church that is pleasing to Him. .Indigenous Peoples .Canada.’
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 27, 2022.
— With files from Frederic Lacroix-Couture
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