‘This is a once-in-a-history opportunity’: Indigenous delegation prepares to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican

Phil Fontaine says he hopes that the Christmastime gathering at the Vatican will begin the process of healing and have it come full circle next year when the Pope sets foot on Indigenous land in Canada.

Phil Fontaine, then national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, pictured at Vatican City in April 2009. Fontaine said that during their forthcoming meeting with Pope Francis, members of the AFN delegation will highlight the work of the TRC and its 94 calls to action; the federal government’s 10 principles regarding its relationship with Indigenous peoples; unmarked graves; and access to residential school records.Photograph courtesy of Fred Cattroll

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BY CHRISTOPHER GULY

December 6, 2021

Too young to have attended an Indian residential school and less than three months into her job as president of the Métis National Council, 29-year-old Cassidy Caron will lead an eight-person delegation from the MNC to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican before Christmas with the goal of formally...

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