Pope coming to Western Canada first

Advertisement

Advertise with us

The itinerary for next month’s papal visit has been announced by the Vatican — and it will begin in Western Canada.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/06/2022 (1541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The itinerary for next month’s papal visit has been announced by the Vatican — and it will begin in Western Canada.

Pope Francis will be in Alberta on July 24 to July 26, Quebec on July 27 to July 28, and Iqaluit on July 29.

The theme of the weeklong visit is “walking together.” It will include a combination of public and private events, with an emphasis on Indigenous participation.

ANDREW MEDICHINI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Pope Francis will be in Alberta on July 24 to July 26, Quebec on July 27 to July 28, and Iqaluit on July 29.
ANDREW MEDICHINI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Pope Francis will be in Alberta on July 24 to July 26, Quebec on July 27 to July 28, and Iqaluit on July 29.

The 85-year-old pontiff will start his visit in Edmonton with a brief airport ceremony on July 24.

He will visit the site of the former Ermineskin Residential School in Maskwacis, Alta., and meet with members of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities on July 25.

That afternoon, Pope Francis will visit Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, a National Indigenous Roman Catholic church in downtown Edmonton, where he will give an address.

The Pope will celebrate an open-air mass at the 65,000-seat Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on the morning of July 26 — the feast day of St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. The event will incorporate Indigenous traditions.

That evening, the Pope will visit Lac Ste. Anne, 95 km northwest of Edmonton. It is the site of an annual pilgrimage that welcomes tens of thousands of Indigenous participants from across Canada and the U.S. He will give a homily there.

Pope Francis will meet the governor general, prime minister and Indigenous people in a series of meetings in Quebec City on July 27.

The Pope will visit Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, northeast of Quebec City, on July 28, where he will celebrate mass at one of the oldest and most popular pilgrimage sites in North America. Later that day, he will participate in vespers with bishops, priests, seminarians and other church officials at the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Pope Francis will meet with a delegation of Indigenous people from Quebec on the morning of July 29 before departing for Iqaluit. There, he will meet with residential school survivors, young people and elders before leaving for Rome.

“This announcement is a confirmation that the Holy Father is coming to Canada,” Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, who is the general co-ordinator of the papal visit, said.

“It’s deeper than that, though. It shows the depth of the pope’s determination to come here to meet Indigenous people. It is clearly a priority for him.”

The visit will not only be beneficial for Roman Catholics, Smith said, “but for the whole country. It can help us all as we work towards reconciliation. If we get this question right, it can have repercussions (that show) all Canadians that reconciliation is possible.”

Smith said the Pope’s health is a concern, so his appearances will be limited to about an hour, with plenty of time for rest, he said.

“We want to make sure he isn’t over-taxed on this trip,” he said.

More information about the visit can be found at www.papalvisit.ca.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.

Donate now to support our reporting on religion.

Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt. BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER

John Longhurst

John Longhurst
Faith columnist & reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

History

Updated on Thursday, June 23, 2022 9:49 AM CDT: Corrects typo

Report Error Submit a Tip

The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.

More Stories

South Winnipeg neighbourhood will be first to go geothermal

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Preview

South Winnipeg neighbourhood will be first to go geothermal

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 9, 2026

A new neighbourhood in south Winnipeg will be Manitoba’s first to use a shared, large-scale geothermal system to heat and cool hundreds of homes over coming decades.

The province is giving up to $4 million to the developers of Southwood Circle, just north of the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus, for a district geothermal system as part of the NDP’s goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“It means a whole neighbourhood can tap into geothermal, which means low-carbon heating and cooling for at least 1,000 homes,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference Wednesday.

Geothermal systems, equipped with pumps and pipes, use underground temperatures to heat and cool one or more buildings. Proponents point to long-term energy and cost savings compared with conventional heating and cooling systems.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 9, 2026

‘We’ll get there’: retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Preview

‘We’ll get there’: retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

For now, the patch of land just east of the Victoria Hospital doesn’t look like much: just a field of rocks, mounded dirt, and concrete piles driven into the earth. Yet when Scott Oake looks over the site, he can already imagine how it will look in just over a year’s time, when the new Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre is expected to open.

It’s easier to picture this time around. In 2020, when the recently-retired CBC sportscaster and his late wife, Anne, were building their first labour of intermingled grief and love, the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre for men, it was hard for him to wrap his mind around how a raw construction site could transform into a welcoming addictions treatment facility.

When that centre opened in 2021, Oake found it looked “almost identical” to the architect’s renderings. So it’s easy to hope the Anne Oake Centre will be the same. It will be the first facility of its kind, its founders believe, not only in Canada but in North America: a place where 50 to 70 women can pursue sobriety while staying with their children.

“At Bruce Oake there’s a culture of love, and most of all a culture of hope,” Oake said, speaking at the site Thursday after a media conference to announce the final push of the centre’s fundraising campaign. “I can feel it every time I walk into that building. And I know it will be the same here.”

Read
Yesterday at 7:08 PM CDT

The plane truth about a dangerous president

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

The plane truth about a dangerous president

Editorial 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

U.S. President Donald Trump has crossed firmly into cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face territory.

Read
Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

‘Dynacare sucks’: premier muses about bringing lab services back into public system

Carol Sanders 6 minute read Preview

‘Dynacare sucks’: premier muses about bringing lab services back into public system

Carol Sanders 6 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 9, 2026

Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba may bring Dynacare’s diagnostic lab services back into the public system rather than continue to sign contracts with the for-profit company.

“Dynacare sucks. They’ve made an absolute mess of this situation,” the premier said Wednesday, the day the company’s 350 employees reported back to work after the labour board halted their strike after just one day.

Kinew first made the remark about Dynacare in a CBC radio interview Wednesday morning and added he is “not happy with them.”

Dynacare performs the majority of non-emergency blood and urine tests in the province.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 9, 2026

Manitoba gains doctors for third straight year, but loses at pandemic-level rate: report

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

Manitoba gains doctors for third straight year, but loses at pandemic-level rate: report

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 9, 2026

Manitoba is adding doctors at a record clip — but it’s also losing them at a rate not seen since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, a physicians advocacy organization cautioned Wednesday.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 9, 2026

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The new moon is in Virgo.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Discussions with partners and close friends will intensify in the next few weeks and financial discussions will favour you. In fact, money might come your way. The new moon is perfect for making resolutions to improve your health.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT