Globe and Mail: Pope Francis will visit Canada in July in a cross-country tour that will take in Quebec City, Edmonton and Iqaluit, the Vatican confirmed Friday, in a trip intended to address the Catholic Church’s harmful legacy of running the majority of the country’s residential schools.

The visit will take place from July 24 to July 30, a somewhat longer trip than had been expected for the increasingly frail pontiff, who is 85 and was recently spotted in a wheelchair for the first time because of chronic pain in his right knee. The Vatican press office gave no other details of his trip, saying that information on the full program “will be published in the coming weeks.”

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) said in a separate release that the visit to specific sites will be planned in dialogue with Indigenous partners, and that Pope Francis is expected to visit the site of a former residential school while he is here.

Some First Nations leaders said they are disappointed the locations don’t appear to include sites where unmarked graves were announced last year, and say there was inadequate consultation with survivors and leaders.

The CCAB release noted the significance of the three stops: Edmonton has the second-largest number of Indigenous peoples in urban areas in Canada; Iqaluit has the highest population of Inuit and the Pope was invited there by Inuit representatives; and Quebec City as the eastern hub has one of the oldest and largest pilgrimage sites in North America.

When asked why the Pope isn’t visiting Kamloops or other locations of unmarked graves, the archbishop cited the Pope’s mobility issues. “What’s really directing this is the Pope’s limited ability to get around,” he said, adding that travel by helicopter, long trips by car and frequent changes of location are too difficult. “What [the Vatican] has said is we’re going to have to choose places as hubs that will allow him to access sites that will be meaningful, but easily accessible within a short space of time.”

He said the Pope will visit a former residential school site, but made no promises that he will visit a site of unmarked graves.

A full itinerary and schedule is expected to be released six to eight weeks before the visit.