Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica performs rite of reparation after man desecrates altar

The archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica performed a rite of reparation at the main altar Oct. 13, three days after an unidentified man approached the altar and desecrated it, according to Aleteia. 

The outlet reports that Vatican basilica official confirmed the rite of reparation to I.MEDIA. Video footage of the Oct. 10 desecration depicts a man at the Altar of Confession undressing and urinating there before security personnel intervene. FOX 4 News reports that multiple Italian news outlets said the personnel escorted the man out of the basilica and that Pope Leo was informed and “shocked to learn of the news,” according to the outlets. The Vatican has not issued a public statement on the desecration.

Daily Wire journalist Bree Dail reported on X Oct. 11 that the desecration took place in the presence of hundreds of pilgrims in the church and that Holy Mass was being celebrated at the Altar of the Chair at the time. 

The Altar of the Chair is located past the Altar of Confession. 17th-century artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini created the baldacchino that is over the Altar of Confession, which is located in the main part of the basilica. 

The Church’s Code of Canon Law stipulates: “Sacred places are violated by gravely injurious actions done in them with scandal to the faithful, actions which, in the judgment of the local ordinary, are so grave and contrary to the holiness of the place that it is not permitted to carry on worship in them until the damage is repaired by a penitential rite according to the norm of the liturgical books.”

Aleteia reports that Archpriest Cardinal Mauro Gambetti performed the rite of reparation at the Altar of Confession.