Edmonton (Alberta)/CMEDIA: Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium is expected to fill with tens of thousands of people including Indigenous groups, residential and day school survivors, elders, knowledge keepers, and Catholics to listen to Pope Francis’ address during the roughly hour-long mass.
Pope Francis began his weeklong visit with a public address in Maskwacis, Alberta., where he asked for forgiveness for the role of Christians in residential schools from Indigenous school survivors and Indigenous community members gathered at the former residential school south of Edmonton.
He added that Indigenous peoples’ forced assimilation into Christian society destroyed their cultures.
Later today the pontiff is expected to travel to Lac Ste. Anne, northwest of Edmonton, to take part in the annual Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage, where he is expected to spend about an hour on the first day of the four-day pilgrimage.
Francis’s participation in the proceedings is expected to begin around 5 p.m. MT.
Later in the week Francis is scheduled to travel to Quebec City for meetings with Indigenous Peoples and to host another mass, and will then travel to Iqaluit.
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