IQALUIT – The pope will today finish his catholic mission in Canada, which began last Sunday, with a trip to the far north of the country to Iqaluit – the capital of the Nunavut, before returning to Rome.

 This comes after a visit on Thursday to the Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral where he said that “and thinking about the process of healing and reconciliation with our Indigenous brothers and sisters, never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others.”

 Today he will meet privately with local archbishops in Québec before then seeing a delegation of Indigenous people in the French speaking province.

 Francis will then head to Iqaluit where he will visit a local school which was formerly a residential school for Indigenous people, in the town which is close to the Artic Circle.

 The pontiff, who earlier in the week apologised for the church’s role in the destruction of Indigenous culture in Canada, will speak in private to a group of young people.

 After the ceremony, he will then fly back from Iqaluit airport to Rome landing at 7:50  into Fiumicino after what has been a busy week in Canada.

Jd