Pope Francis apologised and begged forgiveness Friday for the "deplorable" abuses suffered by Indigenous Peoples in Canada's church-run residential schools and said he hoped to visit Canada in late July to deliver the apology in person to all those who suffered from the Catholic Church's misguided missionary zeal.
Francis made the apology during an audience with dozens of members of the Metis, Inuit and First Nations communities who came to Rome seeking a papal apology and a commitment for the Catholic Church to repair the damage.
He said he hoped to visit Canada "in the days" around the Feast of St Anna, which falls on July 26 and is dedicated to Christ's grandmother. More than 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.