ABOARD PLANE: Pope Francis departed from Rome on Sunday for Canada in order to meet with Indigenous victims of abuse that occurred at Catholic Church-run residential schools over a period of decades.
Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, will greet the leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics in the world at Edmonton’s international airport. A little after 9 a.m. local time, the Pope’s aircraft departed from Rome.
The 85-year-old pope, who has been dealing with knee discomfort that has required him to use a cane or wheelchair in recent outings, will be travelling for the longest period of time since 2019 during the course of the 10-hour flight.
who was with him on Sunday, the pope used a lifting platform to board the aircraft while he was in a wheelchair.The main purpose of Pope Francis’ journey to Canada is to apologise to survivors for the Church’s part in the tragedy that has been referred to as “cultural genocide” by a national truth and reconciliation commission.
The pope announced on Twitter that he was travelling on a “penitential pilgrimage” that “may help to the path of reconciliation already accomplished” before departing. His head of diplomacy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second-highest ranking official in the Vatican, will accompany him on the trip.
About 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were transported by the Canadian government into 139 residential schools managed by the Church between the late 1800s and the 1990s,
