Pope Francis orders to return Athens’s three Parthenon temples as a gesture of friendship

The three Parthenon temples in Athens will be returned as a kind gesture by Pope Francis, the Vatican announced on Friday (Dec 16).

The return of the shards, however, has not been given a specific date, according to AFP.

The fragments of the Parthenon on the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have been kept in the papal collection and Vatican museums for centuries.

Parthenon is one of the most well-known ancient structures in the world.

As ‘a concrete demonstration’ of his desire to foster inter-religious ties, the Pope reportedly decided to ‘give’ them to the Orthodox Archbishop of Athen, according to the Vatican.

Since the Parthenon was looted and attacked by Venetians in 1687, it has not been a place of worship.

Its fragments were scattered throughout the main museums of the world.

Before being transformed into a church and then a mosque, the temple was originally devoted to the goddess Athena.