At a glance:

• No national law or policy
• No meaningful way to engage with them on the issue of repatriation, although some very early signs of change

Overview

Vatican City is the world’s smallest fully independent country, landlocked within Rome, Italy. It is commonly regarded as the home of the Catholic Church, and is where the Pope lives.

The only indication we can perhaps gage of the Vatican’s approach to repatriation, is from a couple of recent gestures. In 2022, the Vatican returned three ancient mummified people to Peru.

Then, in March 2023 when they agreed to return three pieces of the Parthenon marbles. At the time, Cardinal Vérgez said:

‘This gesture aims to build bridges of fraternity and show the world that a road of dialogue and peace always exists. The Pope’s art collection must become an important point of contact between peoples, faiths and the churches, overcoming every barrier.’

This return came in the same month that the Vatican repudiated the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ and in their statement wrote:

‘the Church’s solidarity with indigenous peoples has given rise to the Holy See’s strong support for the principles contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The implementation of those principles would improve the living conditions and help protect the rights of indigenous peoples as well as facilitate their development in a way that respects their identity, language and culture.’

In March 2022,  Vatican officials privately showed Inuit, Métis and First Nations delegates ‘a display of cultural items held in the Anima Mundi, an ethnological museum within the Vatican.’ ‘Following the viewing, Anima Mundi curator Father Nicola Mapelli told delegates he wanted to work with them to learn more about the artifacts, and seek guidance about what should be returned to local communities.’

As reported by Grant:

‘Last April [2023], while aboard the papal plane, answering a reporter’s question about repatriation of Indigenous items to groups in Canada, Pope Francis invoked one of the commandments – “Thou shalt not steal” – to express his agreement on the importance of restitution. “And then, the restitution of Indigenous things: this is going on, with Canada, at least we were in agreement to do so,” he said.

“Sometimes wars and colonization lead to these decisions to take good things of the other,” he said. “To the extent that one can make restitution, let it be done, please, this is good for all. So as not to get used to putting one’s hands in other people’s pockets!”’

Although Vatican City does not currently have any repatriation laws or policies, perhaps these actions and statement are an indication of more to come.

In October 2025, it was reported that an Inuvialuit kayak and other items are set to be repatriated from the Vatican in a return facilitated by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The repatriation is structured as a ‘church-to-church’ donation which enables the Vatican to return th items whilst avoiding setting a precedent of returning items directly to Indigenous Nations. The items will initially return to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que who will ‘work with a committee of Indigenous representatives to determine where they should ultimately be placed’.

If you are connected to the Vatican and know of anything that could be added to this page please get in touch.