Overview

• Italian media reported that a man bypassed barriers around 9:30 a.m. local time on Friday and urinated at the papal altar beneath Bernini’s baldachin.
• Security personnel subdued the suspect and removed him from the site, and his identity has not been confirmed.
• Clips purportedly showing the incident are circulating on social media, according to the reports.
• Il Tempo reported that Pope Leo XIV was informed of the episode and received the news with dismay.
• Vatican authorities said safeguards inside St. Peter’s will be reviewed, a step that follows a February case in which a Romanian man climbed the same altar and toppled candelabras.