The FBI recently announced that it recovered a stolen, centuries-old religious artifact from Italy after it resurfaced in an unexpected location: New England.
The 17th-century reliquary urn was obtained by FBI agents on February 11, though officials did not announce its recovery until April 30.
The urn was “one of 17 ecclesiastical artifacts stolen from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo di Cangiano” between 2012 and 2022, the FBI’s Boston office said in a statement.
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Images show the gilded artifact’s ornate Baroque design, which was used to hold Catholic relics.
Kristen Setera, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Boston office, told Fox News Digital the urn was discovered missing during an inventory in November 2022.
Investigators later traced the roughly 400-year-old artifact to a New England antiques dealer, who had purchased it from another dealer in Italy.
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“We do not know how or who stole the urn from the church, but we do know it was sold to a New England-based antiques dealer and shipped to the United States,” said Setera.
The FBI worked with Italian authorities to identify the New England antiques dealer, who agents later interviewed.
“During the interview, the urn was examined and information was gleaned on how the antiques dealer came to acquire the urn,” Setera added. “Based on this interview and examination of the urn, the determination was made [that] the urn was the one missing from the church of San Michele Arcangelo.”
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She also said, “This information was shared with the antiques dealer, who ultimately agreed to turn over the urn to the FBI for repatriation to Italy.”
The FBI worked with the Italian Ministry of Culture throughout the process.
The urn had a formal repatriation ceremony in Italy on April 29, the FBI said.
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The Baroque urn “represents a significant piece of Italian history,” the agency added — and is “subject to protection by the Italian State based on the Accords in force with the Vatican City State.”
Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, called the recovery “incredibly exciting.”
“After all, this reliquary urn is a tangible link to intense religious devotion and a connection to the generations who lived and prayed with it,” Docks said in a statement.
“It represents the intersection of faith, history and art — elements that are invaluable to the people of Italy and to humanity as a whole.”
