A man visiting the Vatican stripped off his clothes and ran naked toward the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in an apparent act of protest against the war in Ukraine, officials said.
A tourist undressed in St. Peter’s Basilica
An image posted online shows the man with a sign painted on his back calling for the rescue of Ukrainian children.
Guards handed the unidentified man over to Italian police, a Vatican source told Reuters, adding that he also had self-inflicted cuts on his body from his fingernails.
It is unclear if he faces charges.
The incident happened just before the closing of the basilica on Thursday afternoon.
This is not the first time someone has undressed in the St. Peter’s Basilica complex.
In 2016, 44-year-old Luis Carlo Giampaoli was arrested after stripping at the site, The Independent reported.
Several Italian media sites published photos of the incident taken by tourists.
The person in question was taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after shouting in Portuguese “Dear brothers and sisters, I’m from Brazil!”.
The Vatican guard forced the man to get dressed and get down from the altar. He was later handed over to the Italian police. The entire episode took place just before the basilica closed to visitors on Thursday afternoon.
It is not the first time that a visitor to the basilica has been seen with an empty rifle. In 2016, a medical assistant was detained after entering the basilica naked.
