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Indigenous artifacts from Vatican returning to Canada as gift from Pope Leo

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Saturday that 62 Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican Museums were returned as a gift from Pope Leo XIV.

The Canadian Church said the gift was initiated by the late Pope Francis, who wanted to hand the artifacts to the CCCB in support of their ongoing journey with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada.

Pope Leo XIV honoured Pope Francis’s wish, and handed over the sacred and cultural artifacts to reflect mutual respect between the Church and Indigenous Peoples.

Pope Francis dons a headdress that was gifted to him during a visit with Indigenous peoples at Maskwaci, the former Ermineskin Residential School, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Maskwacis, Alberta. The Vatican Museums officially reopened its African and American ethnographic collections Thursday, March 16, 2023, by showcasing intricately restored Rwandan raffia screens that were sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibit. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Pope Francis dons a headdress that was gifted to him during a visit with Indigenous peoples at Maskwaci, the former Ermineskin Residential School, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Maskwacis, Alberta.