Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Pope Francis Brings Indigenous Artifacts Back To Canada

The Vatican has returned 62 indigenous artifacts to Canada, 100 years after they were taken from tribes to appear in a 1925 missionary exhibition in Rome that displayed over 100,000 items from cultures around the world. Pope Francis gave the items to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on Saturday, with plans to return them to their original native communities, describing the gesture as “a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity” following his historic 2022 apology to Canada’s First Nations for the church’s role in the residential schools programme. Among the treasures coming home is an Inuit kayak historically used to hunt whales in Canada’s far north and a set of embroidered gloves from the Cree Nation, items that had been held in the Vatican Museum’s ethnographic collection known as the Anima Mundi museum.

The artifacts were taken to Europe during a time when Canadian law and Catholic decrees prohibited native spiritual practices, leading to a ban on certain ceremonial items, though the church has characterized them as “gifts” from tribal leaders despite the obvious power imbalance at the time. During Pope Francis’s “penitential pilgrimage” across Canada in 2022, when he offered apologies to local tribal leaders, the communities requested the return of their sacred items. The tribes have prepaid the cost of repatriation and plan to hold ceremonies before the artifacts can be officially returned after their December 6th flight from Rome. Canada’s Foreign Minister praised the move as “an important step that honours the diverse cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples and supports ongoing efforts toward truth, justice, and reconciliation,” marking a powerful moment when sacred items torn from their communities a century ago finally begin their journey home.

PrevPreviousThe Blood Robots That Sound Like Pure Science Fiction
NextWhat Scientists Saw Off Mexico Coast Had NEVER Been Seen BeforeNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

This Award Show Is Finally Returning Soon

February 7, 2026

Billboard Women in Music is returning in 2026 to celebrate another year of women’s excellence in the music industry, with the annual awards show taking place at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles to recognize the bold vision, global influence and artistic excellence of women transforming music across all genres.

Read More
Happy News

McDonald’s Brings Back Most Requested Happy Meal Toy

February 7, 2026

McDonald’s announced it is bringing back the Changeables Happy Meal featuring nostalgic toys originally launched in 1987 that transform from McDonald’s menu items like French fries into robots and dinosaurs, marking the return of what the company calls “the most requested” Happy Meal toy from the past. The Changeables officially

Read More
Happy News

Fourth Graders Get Music Lesson From Rihanna’s Husband

February 7, 2026

A$AP Rocky headed back to a Harlem elementary school to teach kids a thing or two about rap for the Wednesday episode of Celebrity Substitute, where Mr. Mayers’ class was in session and fourth graders got a crash course in hip hop from one of the neighborhood’s most famous success

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.