Man strips naked in Vatican church to protest against Ukraine war
By India Today World Desk: A man whipped off his clothes and stood naked on the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City in an apparent protest against the war in Ukraine.
The man, who has not been identified, had an inscription painted on his back which read the children of Ukraine should be saved. The incident occurred on Thursday (local time) just before the church was to be closed.
Photos of the naked man were clicked by tourists and went viral on social media.
According to a Vatican source, the man had self-inflicted cuts on his body from his fingernails, news agency Reuters reported.
The man was handed over to Italian police by Vatican guards.
Vatican guards handed the man, who was not identified, over to Italian police, the source said. The episode occurred just before the basilica closed on Thursday afternoon.
In 2016, a man wearing just a backpack and a pair of trainers was arrested after he was found walking naked in the St Peter’s Basilica complex.
The man, identified as Luis Carlos Cherubino, an Italian citizen of Brazilian origin, was caught after he stripped off his clothes.
Cherubino was believed to have walked up to the main nave of the church to the high altar, where the Pope usually delivers his sermons, Metro UK reported. A picture of him had gone viral on social media.