Pope Francis prepares to board an ITA Airlines plane for his approximately 10-hour flight from Rome to Edmonton in western Canada on July 24, 2022. / Daniel Ibañez/CNAOn Sunday, Pope Francis left for what he described as a “penitential journey” to Canada.
The pope is anticipated to meet with indigenous Canadians during his six-day visit and express regret for the mistreatment they endured in Church-run residential schools throughout the 20th century.
Edmonton, Quebec City, and Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, are also on the pope’s itinerary. On Saturday, July 30, he makes his way back to Rome.
Before leaving, the pope tweeted, “Dear brothers and sisters of #Canada, I come among you to visit the indigenous peoples.”
With God’s mercy, I pray that my penitential journey may aid in the ongoing process of rapprochement. Please join me in prayer with me.
The pope entered the ITA Airways aircraft in a wheelchair, but he used a cane to make his way through the cabin and personally greeted the 80 journalists who were travelling with him.
On the papal flight, Pope Francis remembers “Grandparents Day.”
On a flight to Canada for a “penitential pilgrimage,” Pope Francis urges people to cherish and spend time with their grandparents and elderly relatives.
@papal visit @LaityFamilyLife #PopeInCanada #WalkingTogether https://t.co/un4Vt5Jpyk
— Vatican News on July 24, 2022 (@VaticanNews).
At 9:16 a.m. Rome time, the plane took off from Rome.
The pope was scheduled to arrive in Edmonton, western Canada, at 11:20 a.m. MT following a roughly 10-hour flight (7:20 p.m. Rome time.)
The 85-year-old pope spoke briefly on board the aircraft on Sunday’s observance of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in place of his customary Sunday reflection before the Angelus at the Vatican.
The pope reportedly added, “There is no Angelus, so let’s do it here, the Angelus,” according to an unauthorised translation into English.
It’s Grandparents Day, according to Pope Francis, and grandparents and grandmothers are the ones who have given down history, traditions, rituals, and a variety of other things.
In his subsequent advice to young people, he compared this practise to a “tree that gathers strength from the roots and carries it forward in blooms and fruits,” urging them to maintain contact with their grandparents.
“As a religious, I also want to keep in mind the wisdom of the older men and women who have chosen to live a life of chastity, the ‘grandparents’ of consecrated life: Please do not hide them; the novices need to interact with them.
The pope stated that they would provide us with everyone with the life experience that would be so helpful in the future.
Let us honour them today in a special way, the pope said. “Each of us has grandfathers and grandmothers, some are gone, some are alive.
“We have learned so much from them, starting with history. Thanks a lot!
The pope urged grandparents and the elderly to “be craftsmen of the revolution of tenderness” in a tweet earlier in the day.
We are asked to be artisans of the revolution of tenderness, dear grandparents and elderly! Let’s accomplish this by learning to use the most important tool we have, prayer, more effectively.
Our firm prayer has a lot of power!
July 23, 2022 — Pope Francis (@Pontifex)
Pope Francis will be officially welcomed to Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Salma Lakhani upon his arrival in Edmonton.
On Monday, the pope is expected to start his talks with native Americans.