Canada: Pope Francis expected in Quebec where the expectations of the natives are high

Pope Francis addresses the crowd during the annual pilgrimage event at Lac Sainte-Anne, Alberta, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. AP - Nathan Denette

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Pope Francis, who arrived in Canada on Sunday July 24, will spend the next two days in the Quebec City region.

As in the west of the country, he will meet many natives, some of whom are survivors of religious boarding schools in which nearly 150,000 children were deprived of their culture, their parents, and suffered abuse.

This Wednesday, he may take the opportunity to go further during a speech broadcast live in a large city park.

Advertising

Read more

From our correspondent in Quebec, 

Expectations are high for the words that Pope Francis will speak in Quebec.

The pontiff has already expressed an apology for the actions committed by clerics, but many would like him to go further by denouncing the role that the ecclesiastical institution played in what many First Nations representatives consider a genocide cultural. 

Indeed, many members of the First Nations believe that a simple apology is not enough to correct the dramatic consequences caused by the forced stays of children in religious residential schools.

Many are calling for a specific reconciliation plan with concrete actions.

A sign to greet the popehttps://t.co/cJTySspCgM

– The Journal of Quebec (@JdeQuebec) July 27, 2022

In recent days, access to the surroundings of the large park where the crowd is expected has tightened.

Hundreds of police patrol the area and will prohibit the passage of cars.

The program provides for a ceremonial meeting between the Pope and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, followed by a speech by the sovereign pontiff, broadcast on giant screens.

Then François must go to the park in the popemobile for a walkabout. 

It remains to be seen whether this will really be there.

A year after the passage of John Paul II in Quebec in 1985, 35% of believers attended the church each week.

They are only 7% today.

► 

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_EN

• Canada

• Quebec

• Religion

• Pope Francis