Pope Francis invited to visit Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation during Canada visit

Pope Francis has been invited to visit Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation as Indigenous leaders push for an apology for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's residential school system.

Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc is inviting Pope Francis to visit the British Columbia First Nation during his trip to Canada to help efforts with Indigenous reconciliation.

Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir said Thursday it would be “deeply meaningful” to have the Pope visit, but the pontiff must accept and apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system.

“It’d be a historic moment for Kamloops Residential Indian School Survivors and for our community who continues to navigate the impacts following the horrific confirmation of the missing children,” Casimir said.

“For the Pope to come to Canada without real action, with simply the objective of reconciliation, glosses over and ignores this hard truth. Though some may wish for reconciliation, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc is still saddled with the truth of identifying hundreds of child victims from the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc sent shockwaves throughout Canada this spring after it announced it had found what are believed to be the unmarked graves of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Since then, other First Nations have identified possible remains at several residential schools across Canada, the majority of which were presided over by the Catholic Church.

Indigenous leaders have been calling on Pope Francis to apologize for the church’s role in the system and to do so on Canadian soil.

The Vatican said Wednesday the Pope has agreed to visit Canada to help efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.