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This morning, 15 November 2025, in the Apostolic Palace, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in audience the Most Reverend Pierre Goudreault, Bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), accompanied by the Most Reverend Richard Smith, Archbishop of Vancouver, and the Reverend Jean Vézina, General Secretary of the CCCB. During the audience, the Supreme Pontiff gifted to the CCCB sixty-two artefacts belonging to the ethnological collections of the Vatican Museums.
At the conclusion of the journey initiated by Pope Francis, that included his Apostolic Journey to Canada in 2022, various audiences with indigenous communities, and the publication of the Declaration on the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV desires that this gift represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity. This is an act of ecclesial sharing, with which the Successor of Peter entrusts to the Church in Canada these artefacts, which bear witness to the history of the encounter between faith and the cultures of the indigenous peoples.
The sixty-two artefacts, coming from different communities, are part of the patrimony received on the occasion of the Vatican Missionary Exhibition of 1925, encouraged by Pope Pius XI during the Holy Year, to bear witness to the faith and cultural richness of peoples. Sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries between 1923 and 1925, these artefacts were subsequently combined with those of the Lateran Ethnologic Missionary Museum, which then became the “Anima Mundi” Ethnological Museum of the Vatican Museums.
“The Holy Father’s gift is a tangible sign of his desire to help Canada’s Bishops walk alongside Indigenous Peoples in a spirit of reconciliation during the Jubilee Year of Hope and beyond,” said Bishop Pierre Goudreault, CCCB President. “It reflects our shared commitment within the Church to walk together with Indigenous Peoples, as well as our desire to support Indigenous communities in accompanying younger generations in passing on and valuing their heritage. Pope Leo’s gift marks another milestone in honouring Indigenous histories, customs, and cultures. As CCCB President, I would like to thank the National Indigenous Organizations for their openness and collaboration in this work. I assure them of the Church’s unwavering commitment to reconciliation.”
The Holy Father’s gift takes place in the context of the Jubilee of 2025, which celebrates hope, and the centenary of the Vatican Missionary Exhibition. These artefacts, accompanied by information in the possession of the Vatican Museums, which certify their origins and the circumstances of their transportation to Rome for the 1925 Exhibition, have now been given to the CCCB, who in a spirit of authentic cooperation and dialogue with the Directorate of Cultural Heritage of Vatican City State, are committed to ensuring that these artefacts are properly safeguarded, respected and preserved.
Sources: Joint Statement of the Holy See and
the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishopsandhttps://www.cccb.ca/announcement/pope-leo-xivs-gift-of-indigenous-artifacts-to-the-cccb/
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