Vatican: Man turns St Peter’s altar to toilet in front of worshippers 

Hundreds of worshippers were left horrified on Friday morning after a man brazenly urinated on the Altar of Confession inside St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City’s holiest Catholic site.

The disturbing act took place around 9 a.m., according to the New York Post, when the unidentified man scaled the steps of the sacred altar where the Pope traditionally celebrates mass, dropped his pants, and urinated in full view of stunned tourists and worshippers.

Videos circulating online show the man calmly pulling up his jeans moments after the act before Vatican police tackled and escorted him out of the basilica. It remains unclear if he has been detained or charged.

The incident has been described as a grave desecration of one of Christianity’s most revered sites. Sources told the Post that Pope Leo XIV was “deeply shocked” upon learning of the event, though the Holy See Press Office has yet to issue an official statement.

The Altar of Confession, located directly above St Peter’s tomb, is reserved exclusively for papal masses and key liturgical ceremonies.

This is not the first time the altar has been defiled. Earlier this year, a man smashed several candelabras on the same spot, and in June 2023, a Polish protester stripped naked atop the altar with “Save children of Ukraine” scrawled across his back. That incident prompted Vatican officials to re-sanctify the altar in a special penitential rite.

Watch the video HERE.