Religious relics bought on eBay by Winnipegger returned to Italy

The three religious reliquaries - a double cylinder glass tube, a brass and glass medallion, and a wooden statuette - are shown in an undated image. (Heritage Canada/Facebook) (Government of Canada)

Three religious reliquaries intercepted by border services officers were sent back to Italy after a Winnipeg man bought them them on eBay.

Canadian Heritage posted photos of the handover at a Canada-Italy symposium on March 19, marking the first time Canada has returned cultural property to that country.

“This handover reaffirms Canada’s commitment to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and our shared global responsibility to combat illicit trafficking of cultural property,” Canadian Heritage wrote.

The government agency said the items were special containers used to hold holy objects.

They included reliquaries of St. Nicholas de Myra, the patron saint whose reputation as a secret gift giver is said to be the folklore that inspired Santa Claus.

“The return of these reliquaries to Italy illustrates our dedication to safeguarding cultural heritage and meeting our international responsibilities,” said Steven Guilbeault, federal minister of culture and identity.

“We greatly appreciate Italy’s collaboration in this effort, as strong partnerships are essential in the fight against illicit trafficking.”

Their handover comes over a year after a federal judge granted a motion by the Attorney General of Canada to recover and return the three objects to Italy.

According to the summary judgment, the objects - a brass and glass medallion and a double cylinder glass tube that contains human bone fragments- were imported from the Republic of Italy and intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency on Feb. 19, 2020.

Four months later, CBSA intercepted a third object—a wooden statuette.

According to a CBSA spokesperson, officers in Winnipeg were screening courier imports and referred three shipments for closer examinations.

“Upon opening them, they found the three religious reliquaries. Suspecting that their importation may have violated the Cultural Property Export and Import Act (CPEIA), the CBSA contacted the Department of Canadian Heritage,” the spokesperson said in an email to CTV News Winnipeg.

Importer ordered to pay thousands: court documents

The Attorney General brought an action against the importer in March of 2021 under the CPEIA for the recovery and return of the objects to Italy.

Under the act, the onus is on the exporter or importer to obtain information and comply with procedures for objects that may be considered cultural property.

The court documents allege the defendant bought the items on eBay for nearly $3,300 and were imported from Italy.

The defendant, who represented themselves, claimed the items were forgeries and not national treasures, and said he bought them to donate to his church.

CBSA had the items assessed for authenticity by Canadian Heritage to determine whether they were subject to import controls under CPEIA.

From there, Canadian Heritage sought opinions from experts in Catholic relics and Italian cultural property on the origin and authenticity of the items. It also researched Italy’s cultural property legislation and contacted Italian authorities.

The Italian government then confirmed all three items were subject to that country’s cultural property legislation and requested they be returned.

In his December 2023 judgment, federal court justice Robert Lafrenière ruled the defendant must pay over $2,200 in legal costs and ordered the items be sent back to Italy.

“While I have no doubt that the defendant truly and sincerely believes that the three objects are forgeries, he is neither an expert qualified to express opinions regarding their authenticity, nor in a position to question the experts’ evidence given that he chose not to cross-examine them,” Justice Lafrenière’s decision reads.