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May 19, 2023By Justin McLellan, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A man with apparent psychiatric problems forced his through a Vatican security gate late May 18 by speeding past Swiss Guards and Vatican gendarmes in a vehicle before being apprehended in a Vatican courtyard.
According to a statement by the Vatican press office, a Vatican police officer fired a bullet at the speeding car's front tires, hitting its fender, yet the driver reached the San Damaso Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace where he exited the vehicle and was arrested.
He did not get near the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse where Pope Francis lives.
The Apostolic Palace houses various offices of the Holy See, the library where the pope typically meets heads of state and the papal apartments -- though Pope Francis has opted to live in the Vatican guesthouse since he became pope in 2013.
According to the Vatican, the car approached the Sant'Anna entrance to Vatican City State shortly after 8 p.m. and was turned away by the Swiss Guard. The vehicle briefly left the gate before returning at high speed and forcing its way past two security check points. The Vatican said that a gate which could have given him access to the road leading to Pope Francis' residence and St. Peter's Basilica was quickly closed after an alarm was relayed over radio.
The Vatican said that the man, about 40 years old, was examined by Vatican doctors who said he was in a "serious state of psychophysical alteration." He was taken to a detention cell at the barracks of the Vatican gendarme corps, the city-state's police force, where he was to await an appearance before Vatican judicial authorities.
The Italian news agency ANSA identified the man as Simone Baldovino and said he had a history of drug use.
In June 2022, Italian military police shot out the tires of a car near the Vatican that was speeding toward St. Peter's Square while visitors gathered for the pope's Sunday Angelus. The Swiss Guard closed entry points to the Vatican as a precaution but ruled out terrorism as a motive for the threat.
UPDATE: Man who forcibly entered Vatican sent to psychiatric ward
By Justin McLellan, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The man who drove past two security checkpoints to enter a Vatican courtyard May 18 was taken to the psychiatric ward of a hospital for "obligatory" treatment after he was questioned by Vatican judicial authorities, the Vatican said in a statement May 19.
An approximately 40-year-old man, identified as Simone Baldovino by the Italian news agency ANSA, forced his way past Swiss Guards and Vatican gendarmes at the Sant'Anna entrance to Vatican City State in a vehicle shortly after 8 p.m. May 18.
A Vatican police officer shot at the speeding car's front tires, hitting its fender, yet the man was able to reach the San Damaso Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace where he exited the vehicle and was arrested.
He did not get near Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse where Pope Francis lives.
Spanish-language newspapers La Nación and ABC reported that after his arrest the man claimed to have forced his way into the Vatican because he'd had visions of the devil and wanted to tell Pope Francis about them.
After his arrest the man was taken to a detention cell in the barracks of the Vatican gendarmes, the city-state's police force. The following day he was questioned by Vatican judicial authorities and committed to the psychiatric ward of the Santo Spirito Hospital near the Vatican.
In its initial statement the Vatican said the man was in a "serious state of psychophysical alteration" when apprehended. Although he entered the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, the Vatican said that the gates that could have given him access to Pope Francis' residence and St. Peter's Square were closed after an alarm was relayed over radio quickly after the breach.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the man had a history of drug use.