A special "purification rite" was held at the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on June 3 after he was desecrated by a naked man in protest of the war in Ukraine.

The man took off his clothes and stood on the altar as the basilica closed to visitors. On his back was the inscription: "Save the children of Ukraine."

It is reported by Reuters.

The prayer service, known as the "rite of repentance" required by canon law, was led by the bishop of the basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.

At a prayer service during which Pope Francis consecrated the altar, Gambetti said the man had made a "sinful and inappropriate, truly pathetic gesture" to draw attention to the victims of the war.

Vatican guards handed him over to Italian police, who detained him and ordered him expelled from the country.

A Vatican source added that the man also had nail cuts on him at the time of the incident. His identity has not been established, but in photos taken by tourists and posted on social networks, he was about 20-30 years old.

We will remind, volunteers of the Russian Federation offered the governor of Belgorod region to meet and "talk without weapons" (video).

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