Armed priest arrested trying to enter Vatican ahead of Pope Francis' audience

In the last few hours, the Italian police arrested a priest in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican who was trying to access the Sunday Angelus prayer armed with a compressed air pistol, two knives, a cutter and a screwdriver.

According to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica , the detainee is a 59-year-old priest from the Czech Republic. Apparently, he alleged that the bag where he was carrying the weapons belonged to another person and that these were for personal defense. Later, a compatriot of the priest, 60 years old and apparently the owner of the bag, was also arrested. Both had arrived in Rome on a pilgrimage from the Czech Republic by bus.

Milan Palkovic, the arrested priest, was accused of illegal possession of weapons. Neither he nor his compatriot have a criminal record.