Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Canada, a “pilgrimage of error”, as he himself has defined it, was presented this morning to journalists accredited to the Press Office of the Holy See. Director Matteo Bruni explained the program for the thirty-seventh international visit, after Papandre’s knee problem worsened, he is flying over the Atlantic from July 24 to 30 to meet the three natives of a northern country particularly huge American. United Nations, Inuit and Métis – and “walking together” with them on a path of reconciliation and healing, according to the motto chosen by the organizers.

If the “First Nations” represent the main community of indigenous peoples in the southern part of the North American nation, the Inuit are part of one of the main groups that live in the Arctic region; and the Métis in the west of the country, the Métis resulting from the union between the tribes and the Europeans.

The visit of Pope Bergoglio on several occasions to reaffirm his “closeness” to the long process of truth and reconciliation is a concrete response to the dialogue held in the Vatican at the end of March and the beginning of April. Against the backdrop of the dramatic story of over 150,000 Indigenous children in government-run “residential schools”, the last of which were closed by the Canadian government for over a century between 1870 and 1996 as part of a policy of forced assimilation. . promoted by Christian churches (Catholic, Protestant and Anglican).

In order not to lose the memory of “the uprooting and wounds inflicted on the Aborigines”, the successor of Pierre, the Archbishop of Quebec, wants to visit Canada with stopovers in the territories of the diocese of Edmonton. And Churchill’s remote diocese, Hudson’s Bays, is close to the Arctic Circle. The nine interventions will include speeches and homilies given by Pope Francis in Spanish over six days. Two masses: the first in a field in Edmonton on the 26th, feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and therefore with a special intention for grandparents; On the 28th at the Sainte-Anne de Beaupré National Shrine in Quebec, a second “For reconciliation”.

First announced in October last year, the objectives were reaffirmed at meetings in the Vatican in March and April and officially confirmed in May, for which – explained Bruni – “a pilgrimage that will continue in different parts of the country, chosen precisely from this point of view”, ask the natives. And “he is the pope and the fund will have a theme of love that unites the concerns of this people: the care of creation,” said the director of the press office.

The Arrival logo is the work of Shawn Vincent, an Indigenous artist whose creative process is inspired by nature, specifically the lands of his Métis community in Manitoba. Está represented by a círculo con símbolos estilizados, cuya forma evoca los elements del ciclo de la vida -el sol, la tierra y el agua- y dentro del cual se encuentran herds of caribúes and bisontes, cardúmenes de peces, águilas, la paloma de the peace. and the keys of San Pedro. .

One of the “Canadian cultural mosaics” is Francis’ second visit this year 2022, after his visit to Malta in early April, due to the pope’s travel difficulties, postponed to a specific date. Expected in early July in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sadly, the Canadian journey is also taking place as Europe and the world continue to watch helplessly as the conflict in Ukraine continues, with immigrants making up the largest communities of this persecuted population in Canada. Pope Bergoglio returns to the Americas after three and a half years: the last time was in January 2019 in Panama for World Youth Day (WYD). Since his election to the throne of Pedro, he has traveled to Brazil for WYD in Rio de Janeiro (2013), Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay (2015), Cuba and the United States (2015), Mexico (2016). , Colombia (2017), Chile and Peru (2018).

Juan Pablo in front of him I He traveled to Canada in 1984, from September 9 to 20, twelve days, traveling through fourteen cities, including Quebec and Edmonton; On September 20, 1987, he celebrated a mass for Native people on the island of Fort Simpson, canceled on a previous trip due to fog; and in 2002, from July 23 to 29, the WYD in Toronto. He also made gestures and spoke words that sounded like an overture to claim tribal rights.