Francis, Pope of the People

Pope Francis spoke up for the oppressed and poor

This morning I woke up to the news that Pope Francis had passed at the age of 88. We had just saw him less than 12 hours earlier in news footage in his Popemobile blessing a baby. But when he addressed the crowd at St Peter's Basilica to say "Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter", his voice was very weak...

He was discharged last month after 38 days in hospital battling pneumonia in both lungs. Doctors didn't think he would make it -- twice. They advised him to isolate himself and get rest for at least two months to avoid infection, but Francis wanted to be with the people, one last time.

And he will be forever remembered as a pope with humility who advocated for the oppressed, the poor, migrants, refugees, and the environment.

He made a landmark trip to Canada in 2022

Francis criticised the Trump administration's mass deportation policy. In a letter to American bishops, he wrote: "What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly."

In 2022 he came to Canada to right a wrong, apologising to the Indigenous people for how they were treated in residential schools. 

From the 1870s to the 1990s, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were taken away from their families and forced to attend church-run schools to get them to forget their language and culture. 

Many of the children were abused and neglected, thousands died of malnutrition, suicide and disease.

Pope Francis listened to the survivors and apologised, making him the first pope to do so, and asked for forgiveness.

Several times he has also called for a cease fire in Gaza, condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation," and expressed his "closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people."

He called Gaza nightly to check on people there

Every night at around 8pm Francis would call Father Gabriel Romanelli to check on how the faithful were doing in the last standing Catholic church in Gaza. The pontiff would ask Romanelli how the residents were doing in the midst of war, if they had enough food and what they had eaten that day.

"It was a singular expression of his love, his concern. A real concern for the good of all and a sign of the good shepherd," Romanelli said. "People feel abandoned, but the call of the Pope gave a very hard sign of hope."

When the bombings were bad, Francis would call three or four times that day.

Giving people hope is what religion does, and Francis embued this as the leader of the Catholic church who was on the ground with the people.

Following his funeral this weekend, bishops will be gathering to decide on the next pope. There are hopes he will also be liberal and continue where Francis left off. Someone like him is needed more than ever in a world that has become more authoritarian.

Fort Langley: Visiting the National Historic Site

An elderly woman shows kids how to make wooden buckets

Our next stop in Fort Langley was the fort itself, which dates back to 1827 and was a vital part in the fur trade as it is located on the banks of the Fraser River.

It's now a national tourist attraction, where visitors can roam around the actual fort and see recreations of the various buildings and some people there bring the time back then to life.

Fur pelts hanging from the ceiling in a building

The fort was once part of the British trade route that traded with indigenous people for furs and fish, who got blankets and other goods in return. 

This also resulted in the birth of the Metis people, when European men married aboriginal women in a bid to gain better access to goods and trade networks.

In the fort, visitors can see furs hanging from the wooden ceiling, various blankets, including those from the Hudson's Bay Company with the distinctive red, blue, green and yellow stripes. 

We were intrigued to see boxes made of woven bamboo with labels that said "Shanghai" and "San Francisco", while the dining room table had crockery with blue and white chinoiserie designs.

There's also a room showing aboriginal embroidery and beading that is modern but beautiful nonetheless. An impressive piece is part of British Columbia shown in embroidery and beading, while other handicrafts including woven baskets and hats.

Woven bamboo boxes with Shanghai labels

Another building showed woodworking, and an elderly woman demonstrating to a group of children how buckets were made out of wood, and in another outdoor area, a blacksmith talked to kids about making objects out of metal, with a real fire nearby.

At the back of the fort is a home, where a man is dressed as a steward and says he manages the household, with the kitchen just behind the house and to the right of it is a small hutch for three rabbits, and another caged area for three goats. There's also a small but impressive looking garden that is growing kale.

One of the last stops is where visitors can go through a slurry and pan for gold. Any chances of finding anything?

It's an educational visit and young people get a bit of a taste of the history in an interactive way.

Chinoiserie crockery with tartan tablecloth!

Fort Langley National Historic Site

23433 Mavis Avenue

Fort Langley, BC

604 513 4777