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A man urinated on the Vatican’s holiest altar in front of hundreds of horrified worshippers, according to local reports.
Shocking footage posted on social media appears to show a man with his trousers around his ankles taking a leak on the Altar of Confession.
Catholics believe the altar, inside St Peter’s Basilica, stands atop the grave of Saint Peter who was chief among Jesus’ disciples.
The man was arrested after being led away by plainclothes police officers, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
The suspect allegedly got past the turnstiles surrounding the altar before climbing its steps at around 9.30am on Friday.
Stunned tourists and worshippers did not know where to look as he mounted the podium.
A video shows some people diverting their eyes, while others gape in disbelief.
The man, who is yet to be officially identified, was then dragged away by police.
The news apparently reached Pope Leo XIV himself, who was ‘shocked’ according to a local media report.
The video has sparked outrage and upset among social media users – including devout Catholics left reeling by the incident.
The Lepanto Institute, an organisation dedicated to defending Catholic sites, has demanded the altar be ‘reconsecrated’ following the ‘desecration’.
Another X user suggested the Vatican was paying the price for opening its holy sites to roughly ten million tourists every year.
They said: ‘Are we allowing the disrespect because we ourselves no longer demand any level of respect?
‘Maybe it’s time to stop having our cathedrals be massive tourist attractions and require appropriate attire and behaviour to visit.’
St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican’s holiest church, has been targeted on multiple occasions.
In 2023, a naked Polish man with ‘Save children of Ukraine’ written on his back leapt onto the same altar.
He was arrested and Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the Basilica’s archpriest, condemned the ‘inappropriate, truly regrettable gesture’.
In February this year, a Romanian man climbed atop the altar, removed its cloth, and kicked over gold candelabras worth roughly £23,200.
A Vatican spokesperson said the man was mentally unwell and was being attended to by the Italian authorities.
In 1972, an Australian geologist smashed up a Michelangelo statue depicting the Virgin Mary, also inside St Peter’s Basilica, with a hammer.
Laszlo Toth, who believed he was Jesus Christ, removed Mary’s arm, a chunk of her nose, and chipped one of her eyelids.
Toth was deported back to Australia but not charged with a criminal offence.
Though the statue was seriously damaged, it was restored and put behind bullet-proof glass.
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