Pope travels to Canada for apology to Indigenous groups

The Pope is to apologise to Indigenous peoples n Canadian soil for abuses by missionaries at residential schools (Jessie Wardarski/AP)

Pope Francis has begun a fraught visit to Canada to apologise to Indigenous peoples for abuses by missionaries at residential schools, a key step in the Catholic Church’s efforts to reconcile with Native communities and help them heal from generations of trauma.

Francis is flying to Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday, where he will be greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mary May Simon, an Inuk who is Canada’s first Indigenous governor-general.