Pilgrims and tourists visiting St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday should not expect to witness a scene of exhibitionism in the heart of the Vatican, in the most famous church in the world. On Thursday afternoon, a man climbed up to stand on the central altar, under the bronze canopy carved by Bernini. He then stripped naked, under the bewildered eye of visitors, some of whom filmed the scene with their smartphones. The images have since been broadcast on Telegram channels.
According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the scene took place just before the basilica closed. The guards of St. Peter's Basilica and gendarmes immediately apprehended the individual, forced him to get dressed and took him to the gendarmerie for an initial interrogation, during which he reportedly explained that he had done so to demand an end to the war in Ukraine, saying he was saddened by the fate of Ukrainian children who are dying under Russian bombs. He carried on his back an inscription denouncing these atrocities in Ukraine.
The man would have been diagnosed as suffering from serious depressive problems. He showed marks of voluntary flogging on his body.
According to the journalist of La Croix au Vatican, Loup Besmond de Senneville, the Holy See announced the holding this Saturday of a religious ceremony of penance in the basilica, after this desecration of the altar.
