Pope to begin ‘penitential pilgrimage’ in Canada to apologise to Native peoples
The Pope’s trip to Canada to apologise for the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools marks a radical rethink of the Catholic Church’s missionary legacy, spurred on by the first pontiff from the Americas and the discovery of hundreds of probable graves at the school sites.
Francis has said his week-long visit, which begins on Sunday, is a “penitential pilgrimage” to beg forgiveness on Canadian soil for the “evil” done to Native peoples by Catholic missionaries.
