OTTAWA, ON — Today, the Vatican officially announced that Pope Francis will travel to Canada from 24 to 29 July 2022 to meet with Indigenous Peoples of this land on a pilgrimage of healing, reconciliation, and hope.

With this announcement, the Vatican confirmed the Holy Father will make three stops during his visit to Canada: Edmonton, Québec, and Iqaluit. These locations were chosen to limit travel for the Pope given his health, while still allowing for both intimate and public gatherings with Indigenous Peoples from everywhere in the country.

Archbishop Marcel Damphousse of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall warmly welcomes the announcement of the Holy Father’s visit.

“I believe the Holy Father’s visit will do a lot of good for Indigenous Peoples as well as all the faithful Catholics in Canada. Since his mission consists in pursuing a journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples of this country, Pope Francis will be able to provide a momentum of hope,” said the Archbishop.

The complete itinerary for the visit will be shared a bit later to prepare the program in close cooperation with Indigenous partners at the local and national levels. During his journey, the Pope is expected to visit a site of a former residential school as well as other locations having particular significance.

People willing to have further information about the papal visit in Canada can find the latest updates at the following address: www.papalvisit.ca Also visit https://en.archoc.ca/papal-visit for regular updates about the related activities within the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall.

May 13, 2022 – Earlier today, the Vatican formally announced that Pope Francis will travel to Canada from July 24-29, 2022. The historic visit, focused on Indigenous healing and reconciliation, will be the fourth papal journey to Canada and the first since Saint John Paul II’s visit in 2002.

Bishop Raymond Poisson, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) welcomed the formal confirmation of the visit on behalf of Canada’s Catholic Bishops: “We are immensely grateful that the Holy Father has accepted our invitation to continue the journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples of this land. In late July, Pope Francis will have the opportunity to visit Indigenous Peoples here in their homeland, as he promised when he met them recently in Rome. We pray for the health of the Holy Father as we undertake the intensive planning for this historic visit.” >>more

Those interested in learning more about the Papal Visit to Canada can find the latest updates at: www.papalvisit.ca (english) and www.visitepapale.ca (french).