It didn't end with urinating on the altar. Measures in the famous basilica will be tightened

The Vatican is tightening security measures at St. Peter's Basilica after a series of vandalism incidents, but wants to avoid "militarizing" it. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti made this statement ahead of the 400th anniversary of the basilica's consecration.

According to him, more than 20 million visitors have passed through the temple in the last year, and the recent incidents have been very limited compared to this number.

Visitors are already checked before entering, and 40 to 60 people supervise security inside. The new measures should be invisible to the average visitor. Gambetti emphasized that the basilica should remain a place where people feel free, but that certain security limits cannot be exceeded.

Security is being addressed after several incidents at the main altar under the 17th-century canopy by a team led by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Last October, a man urinated on the altar, in February another damaged the candlesticks, and in June 2023, a man of Polish origin stripped naked there in protest against the war in Ukraine.

Gambetti called on the media not to encourage imitation and drew attention to the vulnerability of some of the perpetrators.

(reuters, max)