On Sunday morning, Italian police detained a Czech priest, Milan Palkovic, 59, at security checkpoints around St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The priest, clad in a cassock, was found carrying a bag containing a compressed air gun, two knives, a box cutter, and a screwdriver.
Around 9 AM, Palkovic attempted to enter the square for Pope Francis’ Regina Caeli prayer but was stopped by the metal detectors. Palkovic passed the bag to another individual right before undergoing the security check. The police became suspicious and subsequently discovered the weapons.
Palkovic told the officers the bag someone else’s. A second individual, a 60-year-old Czech man, was also detained by the police. Both he and Palkovic claimed the weapons were for self-defense.
Investigations are ongoing to determine why the priest was in possession of the weapons.
Neither of the men had prior criminal records, and they were part of a group that traveled by bus from the Czech Republic to Rome for a pilgrimage.
Editorial credit: Dave Primov / Shutterstock.com
