Last Friday, a man urinated on one of the columns that surround the main altar of the St. Peter’s Basilica, located in Vatican City.
The members of the local security managed to quickly arrest the subject, but he could not prevent the act of desecrationwhich was recorded by a camera.
The news reached the ears of papa and was broadcast by a local media, which recalled that this is not the first time that a accident of this style.
An episode that «shocked» Pope Leo XIV: this was the attack on the main altar
He Friday October 10 in the morning, according to what was reported by the Italian newspaper Timea reprehensible event occurred in the St. Peter’s Basilicalocated in Vatican City: a man He managed to climb to the base of the Altar of Confession, dropped his pants and Orino on the sacred table, before the astonished gaze of hundreds of tourists.
Although the plainclothes police present at the basilica quickly captured the attacker, they failed to prevent the desecration.
Plainclothes police arrest a subject who urinates on the Altar of Confession. Photo: video capture X (RadioGenoa)/FTP Clarín The moment was filmed by a camera at the scene, and the video was spread on social networks.
According to Time, he Pope Leo XIV was informed about the incident and was «shocked«. The newspaper also maintained that it is possible that, due to this fact, the pontiff will request explanations about the effectiveness of the security service inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
Other incidents that occurred in St. Peter’s Basilica
A well-known incident inside St. Peter’s Basilica occurred on May 21, 1972, when Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian geologist who claimed to be Jesus Christ, attacked the statue of the Pietà, built by Michelangelo.
After fifteen blows of the hammer, Toth managed to amputate one of Mary’s arms, tear off a piece of her nose, and chip one of Mary’s eyes, who is part of the sculpture next to Christ. Finally, he was overpowered by passers-by and, after that, arrested.
After this episode, several decades passed until, in recent years, acts of vandalism occurred again.
In 2023, a naked man ascended the altar of Saint Peter. Photo: X/FTP ClarínIn June 2023, a naked man went up to the altarwith the inscription «Save the children of Ukraine» on its back, in a clear sign of protest for what that country suffered due to the war against Russia.
Finally, in February 2025just as he remembered Time, a man of Romanian origin ascended to the sacred place and caused several chandeliers to fall to the groundplaced there for a liturgical celebration.
