A man climbed onto the central altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and threw candelabras to the ground on February 7, 2025. He was quickly arrested. A statement from the Vatican explained that he is a person with serious mental health issues.
Videos circulating on social media show a man wearing black trousers and a sky blue coat on the Altar of Confession - the altar located above the tomb of St. Peter and surrounded by Bernini's canopy.
In the images, the man can be seen kicking the candelabras to make them fall and then grabbing the altar cloth. Security guards quickly took him from the altar and restrained him.
The director of the Holy See press office, Matteo Bruni, said that evening that the man suffered from “serious mental illness.” He was taken into custody by the Vatican Gendarmerie and handed over to the Italian authorities.
This is not the first time that St. Peter's Basilica has been vandalized. Last June, a man stripped and climbed onto the altar of Confession, with the words “Save the children of Ukraine” written on his back. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, celebrated a penitential liturgy two days later in reparation.
In 2019, a man armed with a knife threatened people present in the Vatican basilica before being arrested by the Vatican Gendarmerie.
St. Peter's Basilica attracts tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims every day. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, director of the celebrations of Jubilee 2025, announced that approximately 1.3 million people have already passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica since it was opened on December 24.
