A man jumped onto the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Friday and knocked down candelabra worth thousands of dollars.
A man has caused minor damage at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican after jumping onto the main altar and knocking over 19th-century candelabra, worth thousands of dollars.
Video posted on X shows the individual climbing onto the altar, which is used for major liturgical celebrations presided over by Pope Francis.
He’s seen pulling off the altar cloth before being stopped by security in front of stunned tourists.
The altar is located just under the basilica’s famous stone canopy, designed by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which was recently restored.
The suspect is a Romanian national and the candelabra he knocked down are worth €30,000 (US$31,000), Italian news agency Ansa reported.
A Vatican spokesman told the agency that the incident involved a person with a “serious mental disability, who has been detained by the Vatican Police and then placed at the disposal of the Italian authorities”.
The incident takes place during the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, with 32 million pilgrims expected to come to Rome in 2025.
The basilica has been preparing for an influx of visitors, given it’s a destination point for those coming to Rome for the jubilee.
The basilica has put in new protective glass in front of Michelangelo’s Pieta, which was attacked with a hammer in 1972, while a similar incident of a man throwing candelabra off the main altar occurred in 2019.
Sudan on Sunday restarted domestic passenger flights to Khartoum International Airport for the first time since the war erupted in April 2023, as a Su...
Russian drone strikes hit civilian sites across several Ukrainian regions overnight and on Sunday, leaving at least 12 people dead and more than a doz...
A freight train carrying with Russian grain has departed from Bilajari station in Azerbaijan, heading to Armenia via transit routes through Georgia....
Dmitry Medvedev said European countries have failed to defeat Russia in Ukraine and have instead inflicted serious economic damage on themselves, as h...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement ...
Pope Leo XIV has met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara as he embarks on his first official trip abroad.
Georgia has formally invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Tbilisi in 2026, following Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s meeting with the Pontiff at the Vatican on Monday 24th November.
A Romanian worker trapped for hours under the rubble of a partially collapsed medieval tower near the Colosseum in central Rome has died, Italian and Romanian authorities said on Tuesday.
Italian emergency services were battling on Monday to rescue a Romanian worker trapped for hours under rubble following the partial collapse of a medieval tower in central Rome, near the Colosseum.
Catherine O’Hara, the celebrated Canadian actress and comedy legend, has died at the age of 71, her publicist confirmed on Friday. She passed away at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
Newly released Epstein files name French President Emmanuel Macron among figures referenced in millions of disclosed documents.
The United Nations faces the risk of “imminent financial collapse” because of unpaid contributions, including substantial arrears from the United States, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned.
Vladimir Putin said Russia earned more than $15 billion from defence exports in 2025 and fulfilled all military-technical contracts despite what he described as growing pressure from Western countries.
Explosions shook parts of southern Lebanon on Friday night as Israeli strikes rippled across the Zahrani district, with the blasts travelling toward the coastal city of Sidon.
Sudan on Sunday restarted domestic passenger flights to Khartoum International Airport for the first time since the war erupted in April 2023, as a Sudan Airways plane arrived from Port Sudan, state media reported.
Russian drone strikes hit civilian sites across several Ukrainian regions overnight and on Sunday, leaving at least 12 people dead and more than a dozen injured, Ukrainian officials said.
Dmitry Medvedev said European countries have failed to defeat Russia in Ukraine and have instead inflicted serious economic damage on themselves, as he criticised EU policy, praised Donald Trump as a leader who seeks peace, and said Russia would “soon” achieve military victory in the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement is already taking shape.
Israel has reopened Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt in what Israeli media described as a “pilot operation,” marking the first opening of the crossing in two years.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment