A purification ceremony has been performed at St Peter’s Basilica, after a man urinated on the Altar of Confession.

On Monday, the Vatican City’s central church was closed to the public, so that prayers could be said and holy water splashed over the sacred space.  

A video shared widely on social media showed horrified pilgrims and tourists watching as the unnamed man urinated on the towering bronze altar, which marks the burial site of St Peter.  

Pope Leo was determined to act “urgently,” and met with Cardinal Mauro Gambetti to discuss a suitable purification.  

Psalms and prayers were read in the space, to “restore the holiness of the place and ask forgiveness from God”.

Recent years have seen three attacks on the holy site; in February, a man was arrested after leaping onto the altar and pulling down six candelabras.

In 2023, a Polish man stripped naked to reveal the phrase: “save children in Ukraine” in an anti-war protest.