We have been working closely with Father Susai of Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, which is a National Catholic Parish for indigenous people.
Sacred Heart parish elders will be hosting a pipe ceremony – a high honour among First Nations – at 3 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. The ceremony is by its sacred nature private, involving only the elders. No photos or videos are allowed.
Following that private ceremony with a more public outreach, a 4 to 6 p.m. vigil will be held at the Sacred Heart church site on 96 Street in which 215 ribbons will be tied in the area.
During the prayer service, there will be traditional smudging and also one man will drumming.
A limited number of participants will be able to be physically present to reflect silently or speak.
In the interest of crowd control due to the COVID pandemic, others are asked to either drive past and respectfully reflect inside their vehicles, or to walk past with appropriate social distance spacing.
His Grace Archbishop Richard W. Smith will be celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart parish at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday June 6. Mass will be offered for the victims of the former Kamloops residential school and for all residential school survivors. Both that Mass, and Mass from the Basilica, will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.