Pope Francis ‘begs forgiveness’ over abuse at church schools in Canada

Pontiff apologises on visit to country over catastrophic' historical mistreatment of Indigenous children

Pope Francis has apologised for the disastrous error" and evil" of Canada's church-run residential schools, asking survivors of the system that abused tens of thousands of children for forgiveness as he toured the country on a pilgrimage of penance".

The pontiff's widely anticipated apology came during a Monday morning visit to the community of Maskwacis, Alberta - the first formal event of his one-week tour after landing in the western province on Sunday.