Remembering Pope Francis: Pontiff recalled in Edmonton, Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne

Article content

When His Holiness Pope Francis came to Alberta in July 2022, the visit was a catalyst for changes still being felt on Monday, the day he died at age 88.

On Monday, Adela Arcand recalled her organization, Mother Bear Wellness, getting a big boost with the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund that arose from the spark of an idea lit when a delegation of Canadian Indigenous leaders went to the Vatican, gaining an audience with His Holiness.

Article content

The pontiff came to Hobbema, where Arcand, a member of the Alexander First Nation, had attended a residential school for three years as a teen.

“I felt he had a kindness. I felt that he took a risk, because I know the church had its rules in acknowledging what we’ve gone through,” she said.

“I do believe that with the Pope coming it, it actually allowed us to do some healing as well.

“It was very important for me to hear that, because he acknowledged that (the church) made this happen, and it made a mistake, but also the understanding and the willingness to put resources to begin that healing process.”

His commitment to create a $135 million Indigenous Reconciliation Fund spawned a number of projects, including a sliver for Arcand’s Heart Spirit Healing and Wellness retreats to help Indigenous individuals to cope with loss and gain resilience.

The spiritually-guided trauma program helps families and individuals cope with the aftermath of residential school abuse.

Article content

Article content

“We’ve been aware for a long time that the intergenerational trauma was just devastating our people. Residential school, it really left a mark, and broke up families,” Arcand said.

The program begins with the understanding that when someone is traumatized as a child, they get stuck at that age — and make choices accordingly.

“You experience life from that place of this traumatized child,” she said.

Among the program’s beneficiaries are those grappling with homelessness and addiction.

“We’ve seen how powerful that’s been. Because of the work that we’re doing, we see that shift that takes place. They tell us like, ‘I feel like I woke up.’ It begins to allow them to make peace with that past, and to begin from the wisdom, the things they’ve learned from that experience to begin to create a better life.”

The organization currently receive some funding through Homeward Trust, and from the Alberta government — but that may be at risk, she said.

“Hopefully we can get the word out, to get the kind of dollars that really can make changes,” she said.

Article content

The Pope died Monday morning in Rome on what is arguably the most significant day on the Christian calendar — Easter Monday, which marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the centre pin of the Christian faith.

Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith said Monday that the Pope raised the issue of residential schools in the public consciousness.

“Following the Pope’s visit, I had a lot of people, non-Indigenous, (saying), ‘This was new to us’ — as amazing as that is to hear. ‘This is the first we’re really hearing about the legacy of the residential schools,’” Smith said.

“He really brought it to everybody’s attention, not only in Canada, but also internationally. But how we carry that forward, I really do believe, unfolds locally.”

Smith spoke with media after Easter mass at St. Joseph’s Basilica in the hours following the Pope’s passing, recalling the Pope’s visit to Edmonton, when his first public message addressed the church’s role in Canada’s residential school history.

Article content

Smith spent time with Pope Francis on the visit, and he recalled the then-86-year-old pontiff — the first Pope to hail from the colonized Americas — had been in constant physical pain during his journey in Canada.

“He wasn’t going to let that be known, but he wouldn’t let that stop him. So determined was he to bring healing and to touch and to not just impact, but be impacted by the Indigenous peoples,” Smith said.

“Just to see that strong commitment on his part, conviction, determination to reach out to those in need, that did touch me pretty deeply.”

Smith said his own takeaway from spending time with the ailing Pope was learning what it means to really listen as the Pope sat with the delegation of Indigenous peoples in his office.

“He just listened to them as they poured out their hearts, the stories and the sad histories that they were experiencing, either themselves or of their people. And it really, really impacted his heart. What that taught me was the importance of listening to hear. And I remember the Indigenous people saying, ‘He really heard us,’” Smith said.

Article content

Smith said a planned upcoming meeting with Indigenous leaders Wednesday at Maskwacis will be shaped by the Pope’s passing.

“That’s the first place that the Pope visited, and I hope people recognize the significance of that, because normally, when a Pope goes to a country, he meets first with the head of state. He meets the diplomats. He has all these receptions, then does the other stuff. Not this time. He went first directly to the Indigenous peoples, his first words were that famous heartfelt apology, and he signaled right then and there at Maskwacis, and then subsequently to that, that the Indigenous peoples were his priority,” Smith said.

In Lac Ste. Anne County, Reeve Joe Blakeman said the Pope’s July 2022 visit to the community was “a profound and symbolic step in the Catholic Church’s efforts to acknowledge and address the harm caused by residential schools.”

“It was the first time a Pope had visited this sacred site, known for centuries as a place of healing for Indigenous peoples and Métis communities from across Western Canada,” Blakeman recalled.

Article content

“As Pope Francis was wheeled to the edge of the lake and blessed its waters, he honoured the traditions of those who have gathered at Lac Ste. Anne for generations. His presence here was a powerful gesture — an expression of unity and respect that brought comfort and spiritual meaning to many.”

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun

Article content