Pope's apology 'blanketed entire country with some hope,' Winnipeg residential school survivors say

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Two Manitoba residential school survivors are filled with a sense of hope following Pope Francis' apology for the conduct of some members of the Roman Catholic Church involved in Canada's residential school system.

Following a week of talks with First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegations, the Pope said he felt "sorrow and shame" for the conduct of those who ran the schools.

Mary Courchene from Sagkeeng First Nation spent 10 years at Fort Alexander Indian Residential School.

"Those 10 years were fraught with loneliness. Loneliness for my parents who lived next door, my family who lived next door. It was terrible," she said.

Listening to the Pope's words on Friday made her emotional; overwhelmed with conflicting feelings both of hope, but also remembrance of that dark time.

"I feel a real sense of relief, but it's not the end ... there's a lot of repentance to be had, and a lot of action must follow this apology from the head of the Catholic community," she said.

Fellow survivor Jennifer Wood, an Ojibway woman from Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation in Ontario who is now living in Winnipeg, is celebrating.

"My initial reaction was relief and a sense of hope. I don't know how I would have felt if he would have let down the survivors that traveled to Rome to seek an apology," she said in an interview with Marcy Markusa on CBC Manitoba's Information Radio on Friday.

"You could probably hear a sigh of relief and a lot of tears across this country from our First Nations survivors who have been standing by, watching, waiting, anticipating to hear the pope's apology. He just blanketed an entire country with some hope."

LISTEN | Jennifer Wood feels hopeful after Pope apologizes:

But Wood needs him to visit Canadian soil to say those words again, which she hopes will lend more credence to what survivors have said for years.

"For him to come, it's going to bring a lot of validation ... It's going to start a new path down for reconciliation. It's going to open the eyes of other Canadians living in this country that they will definitely see that this was the truth, this did happen," Wood said.

"It's going to open up so many doors and so many hearts."