MASKWACIS, Alberta (AP) — Pope Francis arrived at the site of a former indigenous residential school Monday to offer a long-awaited apology for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s policy of forcibly assimilating native peoples into the Christian society that caused 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 demolished, before being escorted by four chiefs to a gathering of thousands of indigenous people. After the traditional indigenous hand drum played and sang to welcome Francis, the pope prayed in silence and the sun rose 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 a residential school, I went to a residential school,” he told The Associated Press, wearing a traditional Cree headdress with feathers. “I know they’re with me, they’re listening, they’re watching.”
Many in the crowd wore traditional dress, including ribbon skirts and vests with native motifs. Others donned orange T-shirts, which have become a symbol of residential center survivors, recalling the story of one woman who recalled having her favorite orange shirt, given to her by her grandmother, confiscated upon arrival to a residential center and replaced by a uniform.
Upon his arrival in Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, on Sunday, Francis was greeted by representatives of Canada’s three main indigenous groups: First Nations, Metis and Inuit, along with political and church dignitaries. At the welcome ceremony, Francis kissed the hand of a residential school survivor, Elder Alma Desjarlais of the Frog Lake First Nations, a gesture of humility and deference he has used in the past when meeting with Holocaust survivors.
The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse were rampant at government-funded Christian schools that operated from the 19th century until the 1970s. About 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced into attendance in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their native homes, languages and cultures and assimilate them into Canada’s Christian society.
Catholic religious orders ran 66 of Canada’s 139 residential schools, where thousands of children died from disease, fire and other causes.
Francis’ six-day trip, which will also 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 delegations from First Nations, Metis and Inuit. Those meetings culminated in a historic apology on April 1 for “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 earlier this month to Africa. Francis, 85, has called it a “penitential pilgrimage” to help the Catholic Church reconcile with native peoples and help them heal from what Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has said it was a “cultural genocide”.
That same commission report called on Francis to apologize for the abuses on Canadian soil, a request he is fulfilling with the trip.
Thousands of children died from disease, fires and other causes. The discoveries of hundreds of possible burial sites at former schools in the past year have drawn international attention to the legacy of schools in Canada and their counterparts in the United States.
Maskwacis, an hour south of Edmonton, is the center of four Cree nations.
Event organizers said they would do everything they could to make sure survivors can attend the event. Many will travel from parking lots, and organizers recognize that many survivors are elderly and will need accessible vehicles, diabetic-friendly snacks and other amenities.
Catholics operated the majority of Canadian schools, while various Protestant denominations operated others in cooperation with the government.
As part of a court settlement involving the government, churches and approximately 90,000 student survivors, Canada paid reparations that amounted to billions of dollars transferred to indigenous communities. The Catholic Church of Canada says its dioceses and religious orders have contributed more than $50 million in cash and in-kind contributions, and expects to add another $30 million over the next five years.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last year apologized for the “incredibly damaging government policy” in organizing the residential school system, will also attend the Maskwacis event along with other government officials.
In Maskwacis, the old school that Francis visits has been replaced by a school system run by the four local Cree nations. The curriculum affirms indigenous culture that was previously suppressed.
Chief Greg Desjarlais of the Frog Lake First Nation in northern Alberta, a survivor of the school, said after the pope’s arrival on Sunday that there are “mixed emotions across the country” during his visit .
“Today I think of the young people who didn’t make it home and are buried around the residential schools,” he told a news conference after the welcome ceremony at the airport. But he has shown optimism that the visit can begin to bring about reconciliation.
“I know when two people have apologized we feel better,” he said. “But our people have been through a lot. … Our people have been traumatized. Some of them didn’t make it home. Now I hope the world will see why our people are so hurt.”
On Monday afternoon, Francis plans to visit the Church of the Sacred Heart of the First Peoples, a Catholic parish in Edmonton focused on indigenous peoples and culture. The church, whose sanctuary was dedicated last week after being restored from a fire, incorporates indigenous 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 have that chance.”
When Francis visits, the church will display the clothing, bread and other supplies it regularly provides to those in need, including most of Edmonton’s estimated urban Indigenous population of 75,000.
The visit will be a “meeting” that will help “people to know what we are, who we are”, said their pastor, Monsignor Jesu Susai.
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Associated Press reporters Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
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