More than 15,000 Roman Catholics turned GM Place into the largest church in Canada today as they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Vancouver Archdiocese.
Among them was 71-year-old Shirley Leon, a first nation's grandmother of eight who was given the Pope's highest honour for a layperson because of her work building bridges between the church and the native community.
"I feel like I'm someone else," said Leon. "It's unbelievable."
Leon received the Benemerenti Pontifical Medal during a special mass at GM place from the highest-ranking catholic official in Canada, Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
Pope Benedict wanted to recognize her for her outstanding contribution to reconciling natives and the church after the abuses at church-run residential schools, said Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miller.
"Shirley is a testament to that, a witness to that," said Miller. "There are of course reasons for past hurts and so on, but enormous efforts have been made in recent years to bring about a healing."
Leon began to work with the church at a tiny parish in B.C.'s Okanagan. That work grew into sitting on national aboriginal councils and funding small projects that encouraged reconciliation.
"I never dreamed I'd even be off the Okanagan reserve, let alone years later to be on a national council," she said.
Leon said that reconciliation still needs to happen, but it starts now with healing.
"If we could understand the whole picture and start with today, our healing is today," she said. "Life is too short to live it in anger and pain."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward
