‘In a daze’: Métis delegates fired up for papal meeting as flight lands in Rome
Global News
Métis Elder Angie Crerar said she's "got news" for the Pope as she arrived at the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome on Sunday.
Warning: This story deals with disturbing subject matter that may upset and trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.
Outside the arrivals terminal at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Métis Elder Angie Crerar stood up from her wheelchair right away when asked for an interview and a photo.
With a warm smile on her face, the 85-year-old residential school survivor said she was “totally humbled” to have two Métis national presidents standing next to her, and pulled them in tightly to be part of the conversation on camera.
“Unbelievable. I don’t know, I’m in a daze,” she said of her meeting with Pope Francis on Monday. “Very emotional, that’s very important to us and to my life too.”
The Grande Prairie, Alta., resident blew kisses at the camera as Audrey Poitras, Métis Nation of Alberta president, helped her to the bus that took the group to their hotel in Rome.
On Sunday morning, 32 Indigenous representatives arrived in Rome for a week of meetings with the Pope, arranged by the Holy See and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. They flew nearly nine hours from Montreal, accompanied by a support team of friends, family, community members and staff.
They travelled in buses to their hotel, about 20 minutes from the Vatican, and spent the afternoon recharging for what is expected to be — like Crerar said — a “very emotional” week.
“I think it’s really important that everyone, not only our citizens, understand the significance of actually being able to bring our elders to Rome,” said Poitras.
The deadly haze covered monuments and high-rise buildings in the capital of New Delhi, with visibility so low that airlines warned of delays.
The death is being investigated by federal authorities but "the preliminary cause" has been ruled an accident.
The incident took place more than a month ago, on October 13, but it wasn't reported until the British tabloids got wind of the story.
Health officials said Saturday they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo.
Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with U.S.-made weaponry, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.
Concerns storm surges could raise water levels between one and three feet above ground level as Tropical Storm Sara makes landfall in Belize.
Air defenses could be heard engaging drones over Kyiv in the night, and a series of powerful blasts rang out across the city as the missile attack was under way in the morning.
John Kirton, head of the G20 Research Group, says the forum is the main tool countries have to prepare for the second Donald Trump presidency.
Israeli airstrikes on the village of Khreibeh in the Baalbek District of eastern Lebanon killed six people on Saturday, including three children the Lebanese health ministry said.
The APEC summit marked the end of trade talks that should lead to Canada signing a new deal with the world's fourth-most populous country next year.