The apology was for the “evil committed by so many Christians” during the residential boarding school era that affected more than 150,000 native children in Canada.
Some 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to attend Catholic run schools in the 19th century through 1970s.
The three women were among the 14 people appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops, which vets candidates and advises the pope on which priests should become bishops.
The pontiff said recently that his doctors had told him to rest his painful right knee.
The Pope was said to have called for care for children, the sick, the suffering and the entire masses.
“I have borne great responsibility in the Catholic Church. My pain is all the greater for the misdemeanours and errors…”
“This is God’s will. I thank all for their efforts to help,” Rayan’s mother Ouassima Kharchich said, her voice strained with grief and barely audible.
Thousands of people, from members of parliament’s worldwide to former winners, are eligible to propose candidates.
Pope Francis has criticised couples who choose not to have children.
Peter Turkson, 73, from Ghana, is a key adviser to Pope Francis on climate change and social justice and is the only African to head a Vatican department.
