FBI agents in Boston, Massachusetts, recovered a stolen reliquary urn dating from the 17th century.
The wooden urn is believed to be one of 17 artifacts taken from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo di Cangiano between Aug. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2022, according to an April 30news releasefrom the FBI.
The item was recovered from an antiques dealer in the northeastern United States who had bought the object from another antiques dealer in Italy.
He has relinquished ownership of the artifact.
The FBI recovered the urn after a request from the Italian Ministry of Culture.
“It’s incredibly exciting when the FBI can recover a piece of history that carries such deep emotional and cultural significance,” Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement.
📣#BREAKING:#FBIBoston has recovered a 17th century reliquary urn, carved and gilded in wood, believed to be one of 17 ecclesiastical artifacts stolen from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo di Cangiano sometime between 2012 and 2022.
The FBI’s Art Crime Team orchestrated its…pic.twitter.com/79iNOUsrFY
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston)April 30, 2026
“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. It represents the intersection of faith, history, and art—elements that are invaluable to the people of Italy and to humanity as a whole,” he continued.
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