Pope Francis arrives in Quebec City today as part of his ongoing “pilgrimage of penance” to advance reconciliation and healing between the Roman Catholic Church and residential school 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 scheduled to arrive in Quebec City around 3:00 p.m. at Jean Lesage International Airport. Those wishing to see the pontiff on his journey to Old Quebec can be located along De l’Aéroport Road, or along Grande Allée, next to the Plains of Abraham, from Bougainville Avenue to the Citadel.
The Pope is expected to meet with Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Citadel, before he prepares to address the public. Organizers have brought forward events at the Citadel to 4:40 p.m. to ensure indigenous leaders and guests on a delayed charter flight from Edmonton can attend the ceremony.
His speech 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 Plains venues can accommodate up to 160,000 people.
Pope Francis is then expected to tour the Plains in the Popemobile along Avenue George VI East, before his motorcade heads to the Archdiocese of Quebec, not far from the Château Hotel Frontenac.
Preparations are underway on the Plains of Abraham for the Pope’s speech. (Colin Côté-Paulette/Radio-Canada)
Musical performances by First Nations, Inuit and Quebecois artists will also take place on the Plains from 1:30 p.m., and are expected to last until 7:00 p.m.
A group of 13 residential school survivors are due to arrive in the Plains Wednesday afternoon, after a seven-day, 275-kilometer trek from the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region . Once there, they will explain 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 Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré basilica ahead of papal visit
On Thursday, the Pope will celebrate a mass at 10 a.m. at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, about 30 kilometers northeast of Quebec City.
Hundreds of members and delegates of the indigenous community visited the basilica on Tuesday morning for the Catholic feast of Santa Anna. Every summer, hundreds of people travel to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré for the pilgrimage, even more crowded this year with the upcoming mass.
Florence Penashue was at the basilica with her 94-year-old grandmother, Mary Odele Penashue, and says it’s her third time making the pilgrimage.
Florence Penashue’s 94-year-old grandmother, Mary Odele Penashue, has made the annual summer pilgrimage many times. (Sandra Hercegova/CBC)
“I hope everyone will forgive each other, forgive each other and love each other like Jesus said,” said Penashue, who came with her grandmother from Sheshatshiu, NL.
“I’m so happy to be here, that God gave me the opportunity to be here with my grandmother,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“To me it means that he wants to reconcile, restore what was broken and ask forgiveness from the indigenous people,” he added.
Joe Peastitute said it was important for him to attend Tuesday’s Mass because he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be here. He has been staying in Quebec City for medical attention after suffering a stroke and a broken leg.
Joe Peastitute is open to hearing 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 Schefferville, 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 village and the people I lost, my parents, my grandparents, that’s why I came here.”
Thursday’s mass will be celebrated in Spanish, the Pope’s mother tongue, with English and French subtitles on the outdoor screens. People can also watch the Mass on the papal visit website, which will have a live translation of the event in 12 indigenous languages.
Support is available for anyone affected by their experience in residential care or recent reports.
A National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line has been set up to support alumni and those affected. People can access crisis and emotional referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
Mental health counseling and crisis assistance are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by chat at line a www.hopeforwellness.ca.