Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

Pope Francis has apologized for the Roman Catholic Church's role in residential schools.

The Pontiff, speaking in Italian, asked for God's forgiveness for the deplorable conduct of members of the Catholic Church.

"I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry," Francis said, during a final meeting with First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegates at the Vatican.

"And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops in asking your pardon."

Francis also said he will come to Canada.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegates are scheduled today to have a final meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

The groups had individual meetings with the Pope earlier this week and expressed hope that the Roman Catholic Church would apologize for its role in residential schools.

Each group asked that an apology take place in Canada.

Phil Fontaine, a former national chief with the Assembly of First Nations, has said he expects to hear more details about a trip by the Pope to Canada, and a possible apology, at the final meeting. 

Chief Gerald Antoine says he hopes a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican can forge the beginning of an important relationship.

"Despite our collective grief and pain, there comes hope for change," the Assembly of First Nations delegation lead said Thursday following the visit with the pontiff. 

"This change will bring dignity, equality, trust and an opportunity for this change to happen."

The delegates were emotional as they walked out of the meeting surrounded by the drumming of family and community members who waited in St. Peter's Square. 

First Nations delegates are set to speak with Pope Francis at the Vatican today.

It marks the second time Phil Fontaine has met a pope and requested an apology from the Roman Catholic Church for its role in residential schools.

The former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says circumstances are much different now than when he asked former pope Benedict apologize in 2009. 

Fontaine put abuses at the schools in the national spotlight in 1990 when he spoke about his own experiences as a child at the Fort Alexander Residential School in Manitoba.

Mounties have laid a new charge against a Roman Catholic priest who has previously avoided trial for multiple allegations of sexual abuse linked to his time in Nunavut.

RCMP said a Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for Johannes Rivoire, who is in his 90s and lives in Lyon, France. 

"It's about time," Piita Irniq, an Inuit elder who has been fighting for more than a decade to have Rivoire returned to Canada, said Tuesday from Ottawa.

Indigenous delegates who have travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Francis are to get a private tour of the Vatican Museums today. 

The president of the Métis National Council says she feels Pope Francis has committed to a journey of justice after a meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican.

“He repeated 'truth, justice and healing' and I take that as a personal commitment," said Cassidy Caron outside St. Peter's Square on Monday morning. 

Caron said the Pope did not provide an apology for the church's role in residential schools. But, she added, they have always requested it take place on Canadian soil.

Métis and Inuit delegates are set to speak with Pope Francis at the Vatican in two separate meetings today.

The Métis delegates will have a one-hour meeting with the Pope first and the Inuit encounter will follow.

Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron has said she hopes it is an opportunity to share stories from residential school survivors.

Caron adds she also hopes to talk about how Métis people are revitalizing their culture and how the church can support those efforts.

An air of anticipation filled Indigenous delegates as their long flight from Montreal landed in Rome early Sunday morning ahead of planned meetings with Pope Francis.

"We are here because of our family, our family that has been uprooted, displaced and also relocated," said Chief Gerald Antoine, the Assembly of First Nations delegation lead. 

Métis leaders and residential school survivors say a trip to the Vatican to meet the Pope is as complicated as the history between their communities and the Roman Catholic Church itself. 

"We’ve always had faith," Angelina Crerar, 85, said in Edmonton in December. 

"We’ve never ever given up and we never ever will."

The residential school survivor became emotional explaining how her faith continues to give her strength. It also pushed her to join the Indigenous group heading to the Vatican.