Community members gather at postsecondary institutions to watch Pope’s apology

At St Jerome’s University and MacEwan University, residential school survivors and other community members gathered together as Pope Francis embarked on his “pilgrimage of penance” in Canada. At SJU, people gathered to take part in a ceremonial fire and watch a livestream of the apology. “When we gathered today, that circle made it easier for them to share this experience together and conclude it with the smudging ceremony. So they didn’t take all that pain with them,” explained former Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Elder Myeengun. At MacEwan, volunteers at the kihêw waciston Indigenous Centre assembled care packages for survivors ahead of the Pope’s visit to Edmonton. Each package contained Indigenous tea, a floral scarf for comfort, a smudge kit, and contact numbers for support services. At the University of Manitoba, Indigenous student Kathleen McKenzie penned a personal reflection about the meaning of the visit in the context of her life.