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62 cultural objects from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities will be returned to Canada on Dec. 6 after Pope Leo XIV gifted them to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) on Saturday, said a joint statement by the Vatican and the conference.
A statement said the Pope has given the objects to the CCCB, who “are committed to ensuring that these artifacts are properly safeguarded, respected and preserved.”
“The CCCB will proceed, as soon as possible, to transfer these artifacts to the National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs). The NIOs will then ensure that the artifacts are reunited with their communities of origin,” the Canadian bishops said.
The negotiations were led by Indigenous groups and had been ongoing for two years.
The items, which came from several different communities around Canada, had been sent by missionaries to Rome to appear in a 1925 exhibition that displayed over 100,000 items.
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