Here is the pastoral letter from Archbisho Christian Lépine of Montreal following the discovery of the bodies of 215 children in a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Dear faithful of the Montreal Archdiocese

We are all shocked by the terrible discovery of the remains of 215 children in unnamed graves on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. We continue to pray for the deceased children and their grieving families, and we pray for our aboriginal brothers and sisters in Canada, Quebec and the Greater Montreal area.

At this time when all of us are called to pray and show our solidarity, I am inviting all clergy, parishes and Christian Communities to come together in collective prayer this coming Sunday and join with Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, in reaching out to all the victims, their devastated families and the profoundly shaken population.

I pray to Mary, our Lady of Sorrows, and I invoke our Lord and our God at the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, praying that He may bring comfort to the hearts of all those who are pained and afflicted by this tragedy.


† Christian Lépine
Archbishop of Montreal