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A prayer service in the form of a purification rite was performed at St. Peter’s Basilica after a man desecrated the main altar.
Startled witnesses, on Friday, New Zealand time, say the man stripped off his clothes, leapt onto the high altar in the centre of the church, and stood naked apart from his shoes and socks.
Photographs of the man show that he had a message reading “Save children of Ukraine” written in black ink on his back.
He is also reported to have self-inflicted cuts on his body from his fingernails.
The unnamed 34-year-old man of Russian-Polish origin is described as suffering from severe depression and various mental disorders.
Once aware of the protest, the Vatican gendarmerie rushed to force the man to return his clothes and come down from the consecrated altar.
The Italian police then took him in for questioning.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti performed the purification service, which took the form of a prayer, a blessing with water and incense.
Canon Law requires a prayer service.
Gambetti described the man’s actions as “sinful,” labelling them as “inappropriate” and a “truly regrettable gesture” in bringing attention to the victims of the Ukraine-Russia war.
Vatican concern
Recently, the issue of returning Ukrainian children deported to Russia has been a hot topic for the Vatican.
Pope Francis often speaks of the Holy See’s willingness to help. He was asked to do just that by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the Vatican last month.
The Holy See is also concerned about the effectiveness of security in the tiny Vatican state.
It is particularly disturbed that the man had time to completely undress and climb onto the altar unnoticed before the alarm was finally sounded.
Last Thursday’s incident marks the latest in a series of recent security breaches.
Two weeks ago, a man found to be mentally ill was arrested after ramming his car into the St Anne’s entrance gate to the Vatican and driving through the small city-state.
Last August, climate activists entered the Vatican Museums and glued their hands to the base of the famed “Laocoön and His Sons” statue. The first-century sculpture is considered one of the most important ancient works in the Vatican.
The activists also hung a banner reading, “Last Generation: No gas and no carbon”.
And in 2019, another man described as “psychologically disturbed” was arrested by Vatican gendarmes for climbing onto the main altar in St Peter’s Basilica and tossing a candelabra onto the floor
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