Pope Francis departs from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on Sunday morning to begin his 37th Apostolic Journey abroad, which will see him embrace the people of Canada.
Sunday morning saw Pope Francis fly out of Rome on an ITA Airways plane to kick off his Apostolic Journey to Canada.
The papal plane took off at 9:16 AM Rome time, and is expected to land in the western Canadian city of Edmonton about 11:20 AM MDT (7:20 PM Rome time).
He is scheduled to receive an official welcome to Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani.
The Pope will then travel to St. Joseph Seminary and rest up from his long flight for the rest of the day. His first public encounters begin in earnest on Monday morning.
One week ahead of his departure, the Pope said at his Angelus address on 17 July that he is undertaking a “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada, in the hopes of contributing to the “process of healing and reconciliation with the country’s indigenous peoples.”
“Unfortunately, in Canada, many Christians, including some members of religious institutes, have contributed to the policies of cultural assimilation that, in the past, have severely harmed indigenous communities in various ways,” he said on that occasion.
Source: www.vaticannews.va
