The Vatican has granted Muslim scholars’ request for a prayer room.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Father Giacomo Cardinali, the Vice Prefect of the Vatican Library, said the ancient institution is now allowing academics an area to practice their own religion onsite.
He said: ‘Some Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a prayer rug, and we gave it to them.’
The Vatican Library, one of the oldest in the world, has been collecting religious texts from across the world since it was formally established in 1475 by Pope Sixtus IV.
It is now home to some of the oldest theological material in the world, a fact that Cardinali subtly bragged about.
‘We are a universal library, with Arabic, Jewish, Ethiopian collections, and unique Chinese pieces.
‘Years ago, we discovered we have the oldest medieval Japanese archive outside of Japan.’
Today, it is home to around 80,000 manuscripts, 50,000 archival items, 100,000 engravings, prints, coins & medals and nearly two million printed books.
The Vatican has quietly granted Muslim scholars’ request for a prayer room (File image of St. Peter’s Basilica)
And with an online requesting system, Cardinali said the library receives extraordinary requests from around the world.
He said: ‘We’ve been receiving the most absurd requests, especially from America: do you have the time machine? And the Menorah from the Temple of Jerusalem taken away by Titus? And the Holy Grail?’
But not everyone treats the Vatican with the same reverence.
The as-yet-unidentified man was seen climbing up to the Altar of Confession, one of the most sacred places in the Catholic faith, on Friday.
Upon reaching the sacred area, he pulled his trousers down and began urinating.
Two security guards tried restraining him at the 9am mass as visitors and worshipping looked on in horror.
Cops grabbed the man and dragged him way. But he bent down to pull up his trousers, flashing his bare backside to the gathered crowd.
While the Vatican has not yet released a statement on the matter, Pope Leo was said to have been shocked by the desecration.
It is not currently known if the man has been arrested or charged for the incident.
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