‘I hope we can work on reconciliation together’: Indigenous community reacts to election of Pope Leo XIV

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV concelebrates Mass with the College of Cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican the day after his election as 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP)

Millions of people watched as Pope Leo XIV stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

It was a joyous day for the 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, but for others, there were mixed feelings.

 “The Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest and oldest institutions in the world, so it’s odd to see when there is so much poverty around the world,” says Mason, who is an Indigenous advocate in Winnipeg. “Here in Canada, there is a lot of poverty on First Nations and Indigenous communities.”

Back in 2022, Pope Francis apologized to the Indigenous people in Canada for the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools. He expressed shame for abuses committed by members of the church.

“I ask for God’s forgiveness,” Pope Francis said at the time to an Indigenous delegation that travelled to the Vatican. “I want to say to you with all my heart, I am very sorry.”

Mason says the apology from Pope Francis was a step that was long overdue.

“I am happy he made those steps,” he said. “I am encouraged to hear through other reports that Pope Leo is very likely to keep that legacy going when it comes to reconciliation.”

But others aren’t so convinced.

Residential School survivor Geraldine Shingoose says the apology wasn’t enough and doesn’t believe anything will change. She wants to see more dialogue between the new pope and Indigenous peoples.

“Not with Indigenous leadership or the federal government of Canada, but with residential school survivors,” she said. “That needs to happen.”

She also wants to see another genuine apology from the Catholic Church.

“There needs to be admittance to the harms and the wrongs done to the little children that didn’t make it home,” she said.

“I’m hoping with this new pope, he is able to talk about them, to talk about that wrong. He needs to do better. I’m hoping he comes to Canada.”

‘I want to wish him well’: AFN National Chief

National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Cindy Woodhouse says reconciliation is not easy, but necessary and points out there is a lot of work to do.

 “I hope we can work on reconciliation together and continue on the hard work that the late Pope had left for us to finish and there is lots of work to do.”

Chief Woodhouse says there are many other topics beyond reconciliation that need to be discussed with the new pope, including calls to repatriate Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican’s permanent collection and education around the church’s role in residential schools

She says she’s hopeful positive dialogue between the Catholic Church and Indigenous peoples will continue.

“I think there’s so much to talk about,” she says. “We need to talk reconciliation, the dark history of residential schools, but we also need to talk about trying to make the world a better place.”

Mason doesn’t want to see momentum lost with the new pope, from what Pope Francis started.

“A lot of people always don’t understand that reconciliation is an ongoing process,” he says. “It was decades and generations of damage done towards our people. It’s going to be decades and generations to really come to restoration and healing towards Indigenous peoples and the rest of society.

“I hope the important work continues.”