Hundreds of visitors were left stunned at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Friday after a man urinated on the altar during a morning mass, an act Italian media described as a shocking desecration of one of the holiest sites in Christianity .

According to reports in Corriere della Sera and the New York Post , the unidentified man climbed the steps to the Altar of Confession, the sacred space where the Pope traditionally celebrates mass, before pulling down his pants and urinating. Videos filmed by tourists showed the man exposing himself and then bending down to pull up his jeans after the act.

Security personnel quickly intervened, removing him from the basilica. It remains unclear whether he was detained or charged by authorities.

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