A man urinated on the Altar of Confession of St. Peter’s Basilica on Friday before being taken away by security officers in the famous basilica, as seen in a widely shared video showing a man with his trousers around his ankles urinating on the altar.
The Vatican has issued a statement saying the person involved had “a serious mental disability,” Italian media quotes a Vatican spokesman as saying.
“The man was detained by Vatican police before being handed over to the Italian authorities.”
According to the Italian daily news, Corriere della Sera the incident happened at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday 10th: A man urinated on the “Confession Altar” inside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
The man reportedly evaded security personnel, bypassed a rotating access control device and climbed onto the altar to commit the act.
It happened in front of hundreds of tourists, and plainclothes security officers who quickly intervened to restrain him.
Footage of the incident has gone viral and widely shared on social media.
The video showed the man urinating on the altar with his pants lowered, surrounded by numerous tourists.
When a security officer first attempted to pull him down, the man resisted.
After another officer joined, he reluctantly pulled up his pants and stepped down from the altar.
Netizens reacted with comments such as, “The Vatican should not take this matter lightly” and “There must be another purpose for committing such an act in a sacred place.”
This is not the first time that a vandal has attacked the altar from which the pope performs Mass.
In February, a man desecrated the altar by climbing on top of it and throwing six candelabras that were on the altar to the ground.
In June 2023, a Polish man approached the high altar as the basilica was about to close, undressed, and climbed onto the altar. Photos posted online showed the words “Save children of Ukraine” written in marker on his back. The Vatican performed a penitential rite after that act of desecration.
Pope Leo XIV was reportedly taken aback upon being informed of the incident. The daily Il Tempo news reported that the pope was shocked, adding, “It cannot be ruled out that the pope may wish to personally inspect the efficiency of the security system inside St. Peter’s Basilica.”
