Vatican City: The Vatican has returned 62 Indigenous artefacts to Canada in what Church officials described as a meaningful gesture of respect and reconciliation.
The handover took place after a meeting between Pope Leo and representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, including its president, Bishop Pierre Goudreault.
In a statement, the Vatican said the return of the objects was intended as a concrete sign of dialogue, respect, and fraternity. The items, linked to several Indigenous communities across Canada, were originally sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition held by Pope Pius XI. Many later became part of the Missionary Ethnological Museum and were eventually incorporated into the Vatican Museums in the 1970s.
The Canadian bishops confirmed that the artefacts will soon be transferred to Canada’s National Indigenous Organizations, which will ensure they are reunited with their communities of origin.
Meeting with representatives of the Canadian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Pope Leo XIV gifts 62 artefacts from the Vatican Museums’ collection originally from indigenous communities in Canada, as a sign of dialogue and respect, which the Canadian Bishops affirm they will…
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) November 15, 2025
The handover marks another step in the ongoing process of healing between the Catholic Church and Indigenous peoples. In 2022, the late Pope Francis delivered a historic apology for the Church’s role in residential schools, where generations of Indigenous children suffered abuse and thousands were buried in unmarked graves.
Repatriation of cultural items held at the Vatican Museums has been a key topic in discussions between Church officials and Indigenous leaders since that apology.
Canada’s foreign minister, Anita Anand, welcomed the development, calling it an important step that honours the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples and supports broader efforts toward truth, justice and reconciliation.
