‘Our relatives are finally home’: Indigenous artifacts from Vatican welcomed in Montreal ceremony – The B.C. Catholic
December 07, 2025
Archbishop Richard Smith says the 62 Indigenous cultural items received from the Vatican marks “a gift freely given” and an important step in rebuilding trust between the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples.
The artifacts, including a rare century-old Western Arctic kayak, were formally transferred to Indigenous leaders in Montreal as part of the Jubilee of Hope declared by Pope Francis. Before his death, the Pope expressed his wish that the items be returned. Pope Leo XIV carried out that intention, gifting them from the Vatican Museums’ Anima Mundi collection to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for immediate repatriation.
“This gesture is a gift freely given—an act of reconciliation rooted in the grace of the Jubilee Year of Hope,” said Archbishop Smith, a member of the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council and one of the CCCB’s key representatives during the repatriation process. “A gift, unlike restitution, is offered in freedom and friendship, as a sign of renewed relationship and mutual respect between the Church and Indigenous Peoples.”
