Pope Francis says he is ashamed and indignant at the “deplorable” abuses suffered by Canada’s Indigenous Peoples at residential schools that were run by the Catholic Church.

Speaking in Italian at a final meeting with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis delegates at the Vatican, Pope Francis apologized for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the institutions.

“I also feel shame…sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, and the abuses you suffered and the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values,” he said.

“For the deplorable conduct of these members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart, I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.”

The Pope also says he would come to Canada but a date for the trip has not been set. Delegates say it could be as soon as this summer.

The itinerary for that trip is also not yet know, but Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir handed Pope Francis a handwritten invitation to visit her territory.

The apology comes at the end of a week of private separate meetings between the First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegations and the Pope about the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools and more than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.

Around 190 people, including delegates, family and supporters, gathered to hear the Pope’s words during Friday’s final address.

Elder Fred Kelly prayed for the children who went to residential schools and healing in the future. Marty Angotealuk and Lizzie Angotealuk sang “Our Father” in Inuktitut and Métis Emile Janvier prayed in Dene.

Some members had expressed their apprehension and anxiety prior to the final meeting with the Pope because they were unsure they’d get the apology they had worked so hard for.

Phil Fontaine, a former national chief with the Assembly of First Nations, has said it was the right time for an apology.

Fontaine said earlier this week that the pressure on the church is immense after the discovery of unmarked graves at former sites of residential schools across Canada.

“The eyes of the world were upon us here,” he said Thursday after First Nations delegates met with the Pope.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among those welcoming the news of that long-awaited apology, which was one of the calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015.

– With files from The Canadian Press