Pope Francis is planning a visit to Canada.
The Catholic Bishops of Canada confirms the visit, although no date has been announced.
It comes amidst this year’s discovery of several unmarked gravesites around former residential schools sites, some run by the Catholic church.
The Catholic Bishops issued an invite to Pope Francis earlier this year.
“The Bishops of Canada have been engaged in meaningful discussions with Indigenous Peoples, especially those affected by Residential Schools who have shared stories about the suffering and challenges that they continue to experience,” says CCCB President, the Most Rev. Raymond Poisson, in a release. “We pray that Pope Francis’ visit to Canada will be a significant milestone in the journey toward reconciliation and healing.”
Indigenous leaders have long sought an apology from the Pope for the Catholic church’s involvement in the residential school system.
In June, Pope Francis called the discovery of the unmarked graves near a former school in Kamloops “shocking.”
He also appealed to political and religious organizations to work together and commit to “a path of reconciliation and healing.”
A delegation of residential school survivors is planning a trip to the Vatican to meet with the Holy See in mid-December.
