{"id":87962,"date":"2026-03-19T17:40:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/?p=87962"},"modified":"2026-03-19T17:51:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:51:02","slug":"naked-intrusions-and-public-urination-st-peters-installs-barriers-to-prevent-desecration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/2026\/03\/19\/naked-intrusions-and-public-urination-st-peters-installs-barriers-to-prevent-desecration\/","title":{"rendered":"Naked intrusions and public urination: St. Peter\u2019s installs barriers to prevent desecration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Acts of profanity like the one you\u2019re seeing have gone viral on social media\u2014not only because of the act of desecration of the altar of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, but also because the staff failed to stop the man from urinating beneath Bernini\u2019s Baldachin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The incident spilled out into the streets. Pilgrims from around the world couldn\u2019t understand why there were no sanctions or so little protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A relative of mine was fined 700 euros for urinating on a street in Madrid because it was impossible to find a bathroom. So honestly, a strong penalty here wouldn\u2019t hurt.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Maybe stand a little closer to the alter when you see somebody ya know about to do something like that. You could stop them. Drag them away, ya know? Something like that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It doesn\u2019t make sense that with the kind of security they have in the Vatican, they would allow something like this. I mean\u2026 they need to be more attentive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These acts of profanity of course create a negative experience for visitors and pilgrims, but authorities of the basilica have shared a response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CARD. MAURO GAMBETTI<\/strong><br>Archpriest of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica<br><em>And what happened is limited\u2014very limited\u2014so we must also take into account all the preventive activity that begins outside the basilica, as well as all the active and proactive measures carried out inside it. Normally, there are at least 40, 50, or 60 people on duty for security.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After several complaints questioning the lack of security in the Vatican, St. Peter\u2019s Basilica has taken steps to reinforce protection around one of its most sacred spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A movable barrier has been installed around the Altar of the Confession to prevent individuals from accessing it and attempting to profane the site which marks the Tomb of St. Peter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The structure is made up of highly transparent panels, designed to minimize visual impact and respect the artistic and architectural value of the altar and baldachin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February, another man climbed onto the same altar and threw candlesticks to the ground. In 2023, a completely naked person carried out another intrusion as a protest against the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A penitential rite was held by clergy of the basilica after the last incident. Presided over by Cardinal Gambetti, the Creed was recited and the altar was sprinkled with holy water for its purification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Acts of profanity like the one you\u2019re seeing have gone viral on social media\u2014not only because of the act of desecration of the altar of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, but also because the staff failed to stop the man from urinating beneath Bernini\u2019s Baldachin. The incident spilled out into the streets. Pilgrims from around the world [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":758,"featured_media":87958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/R_G74gCPGzo","video_descarga":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/bvallasbaldacchinoeng.mp4","international_url":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/bvallasbaldacchinoint.mp4","type":"bn","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87962"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87962"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87965,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87962\/revisions\/87965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}