In a move historians are already calling “better late than never, but still extremely late,” Pope Francis has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous communities from Canada, marking a symbolic step in the Church’s ongoing reckoning with its colonial past.
The items – including ceremonial objects, garments, and at least one flute that a Vatican archivist swears “just started playing on its own sometimes” – were handed over in a solemn ceremony that blended repentance with a whiff of institutional panic. Vatican officials described the return as part of a broader effort to acknowledge the Church’s role in cultural theft, though one aide was overheard whispering, “There are how many more closets to check?”
Indigenous leaders welcomed the gesture, noting that the move doesn’t erase history, but at least begins to correct it. One elder quipped, “If they find the rest, we’ll send them a thank-you card. Not before.”
