Pope Francis arrives in Canada to mark World Grandparents Day

In a short speech on his flight to Canada on Sunday, Pope Francis recalled that it was a “journey of penance”, particularly for the abuse of indigenous peoples. The Holy Father also spoke about World Grandparents Day, which he celebrated for the first time last year.

“Today we need: return to the grandparents – I say this as a leitmotif – the youth must communicate with their grandparents, return to them, return to their roots, not be there, no, but carry. Get strength from its roots, flowers And like the tree that bears it in fruit,” the Pope said in his brief address.

As a religious man – the Pope was a Jesuit – he wanted to remember “the old religious men and women”. Francis referred to them as “grandparents of consecrated life” and said, “Please don’t hide them, they are the wisdom of a religious family; let men and women religious, novices, communicate with them. . . They will give all of them life experience and help us a lot to move forward.”

“Each of us has grandparents, some dead, others still alive,” the Holy Father concluded. “We got many things from them, especially the story. Thank you!”

Pope Francis will land in Edmonton at approximately 7:20 p.m. (11:20 a.m. local time). Apart from a welcome ceremony in which the pope is not scheduled to address, there is little else on Sunday’s agenda. On Monday, the Pope will meet with groups of indigenous peoples in the morning and afternoon (local time).

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Pope Francis began his seven-day apostolic visit to Canada on Sunday morning. His arrival in Edmonton is expected at 7:20 pm (11:20 am local time).https://t.co/2chDayLjBB

— CNA German (@CNAdeutsch) July 24, 2022

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— CNA German (@CNAdeutsch) July 24, 2022