Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Former Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine, a survivor of Canada's residential schools, was scheduled to represent the Manitoba chiefs when Indigenous leaders meet with Pope Francis before Christmas 2021.Former Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine, a survivor of Canada's residential schools, was scheduled to represent the Manitoba chiefs when Indigenous leaders meet with Pope Francis before Christmas 2021. (CNS photo/Tom Hanson, Reuters)

TORONTO (AP) — A meeting at the Vatican between Pope Francis and Indigenous people who were abused at church-run boarding schools in Canada has been rescheduled for late March and early April after being postponed due to the pandemic.

The change was announced in a joint statement Tuesday by the Canadian Catholic Bishops, Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Council and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. The meeting was originally planned for last December.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools as an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society.

Canada's government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages.

The Vatican recently announced that the pope would visit Canada this year. A date has not been announced.

Pressure for a papal apology increased when the remains of over 200 children were found buried in unmarked graves in Kamloops, British Columbia, last May at what had been Canada's largest indigenous residential school. There are also unidentified remains in unmarked graves at other residential schools across Canada.

First Nations representatives and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have urged Pope Francis to publicly apologize in Canada. The Vatican recently announced that the pope would visit Canada this year. A date has not been announced.

Nearly three-quarters of the 130 residential schools were run by Catholic missionary congregations.

The residential school system was meant to isolate young Indigenous Canadians from the influence of their homes and culture, which the government at the time considered inferior to mainstream Canadian society.

The latest from america

President Donald Trump, center, surrounded by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., speaks to reporters before a House Republican conference meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“These proposed changes threaten access to care for millions of Americans, particularly those in underserved areas, where our member systems work every day to provide quality, compassionate care.”
Kevin ClarkeMay 20, 2025
The Archdiocese of Chicago has scheduled a Mass and a special program to celebrate the election and inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, a native son of the Windy City.
The genre of the crime-solving priest or religious might be a niche one, but it's been around on the page and the screen for more than a century.
James T. KeaneMay 20, 2025
“I would suspect that people are very proud that Chicago produced a pope, and it testifies to the fact that there’s a lot of good here in the city that recommends itself to the church.”
Delaney CoyneMay 20, 2025