US EditionPope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of reckoning with colonial past
- On November 15, 2025, the Vatican returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada in Vatican City, formally transferring them to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
- Following Pope Francis' 2022 audiences with Indigenous leaders, talks intensified after his apology for residential schools, while most items were sent by Catholic missionaries for the 1925 Vatican Missionary Exhibition.
- The artifacts are held in the Vatican Museums' Anima Mundi ethnographic collection and include an Inuit kayak, wampum belts, war clubs and masks; the Vatican calls them `gifts` to Pope Pius XI, but historians and Indigenous groups question if they were freely offered.
- Experts will first examine the objects at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, and the CCCB pledged to safeguard them until transferring to National Indigenous Organisations soon.
- The move comes during the Jubilee of 2025 and the centenary of the 1925 exhibition, with a Vatican statement acknowledging complicity but not rescinding the papal bulls.
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135 Articles
Francis travels to the far north of Canada to ask forgiveness for forced conversions and abuses in Catholic residential schools. Now Leo's "gift" as symbolic compensation. Among the finds a kayak, a mask and a children's belt
Vatican returns Indigenous cultural items to Canada amid reconciliation efforts
The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 Indigenous artifacts to Canada’s Catholic bishops, describing the transfer as “a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity” amid longstanding efforts by Indigenous nations to reclaim cultural property removed under colonial rule. In the joint statement, the Holy See and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops confirmed that Pope Leo XIV formally gifted the artifacts, which had been held for decades…
Pope Leo XIV will soon meet trans woman Alessia Nobile, today it was announced that he will return artifacts to the indigenous population of Canada, and yesterday a Hollywood parade passed by the Vatican. Apparently busy (media) days for the Pope. Church lawyer Rik Torfs has also noticed. "After his election, he kept a low profile for a very long time."
The promise was made in 2022 by his predecessor, Pope Leo XIV announced this Saturday the return to Canada of 62 indigenous objects. These artifacts, preserved in the Vatican Museums, have a very strong spiritual and historical value for the first Canadian peoples. In a spirit of reconciliation, Pope Leo XIV decided to make this gift to the Canadian bishops who will hand them over to the various communities.
Vatican Agrees to Return Indigenous Peoples' Artifacts
The Vatican returned 62 Indigenous artifacts to Canada on Saturday, including items such as an Inuit kayak, wampum belts, war clubs, and masks—many of which had been in Vatican museums for over a century. The artifacts were handed over to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which plans to...
The Vatican is returning 62 historical artifacts to Canada's indigenous peoples. One of the artifacts is a centuries-old Inuit kayak used in whaling. Pope Leo XIV is donating the artifacts to the Canadian Bishops' Conference, which will then return them to the indigenous communities "as soon as possible." The artifacts are expected to be flown to Montreal early next month, where they will first be sent to a historical museum. There, research wil…
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