Reliquary urn stolen from Italian church recovered by FBI Boston

A reliquary urn dating to the 1600s that was stolen from an Italian church has been recovered and returned by FBI agents in Boston.

The urn, which is made of carved and gilded wood, is said to be one of 17 artifacts taken from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo di Cangiano at some point between August 2012 and August 2022, FBI Boston said in a news release.

FBI Boston began the investigation last fall, stemming from intelligence sharing between the FBI’s Art Crime Team and Law Enforcement Attaché in Rome with the Italian Carabinieri.

The urn was voluntarily handed over by an antiques dealer based somewhere in the northeast on February 11. That dealer was said to have purchased it from another antiques dealer in Italy.

It was not immediately clear how the artifact came to be in the possession of the Italian antiques dealer before it was sold. The status of other items stolen from the church was not immediately known.

FBI Boston heralded the urn as a “significant piece of Italian history” and said it is registered in the inventory of the historical and artistic heritage items of the Italian Episcopal Conference. It is protected by Italy and Vatican City. 

“It’s incredibly exciting when the FBI can recover a piece of history that carries such deep emotional and cultural significance. 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,” said Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division.

“It represents the intersection of faith, history, and art—elements that are invaluable to the people of Italy and to humanity as a whole.”

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