On 21 May 1972,Michelangelo'sPietà statue, located inSt. Peter's Basilica,Vatican City, was attacked by Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian geologist who believed he wasJesus Christ. With fifteen blows, he removedMary's arm at the elbow, knocked off a chunk of her nose, and chipped one of her eyelids.[1] He was subdued by bystanders, including American sculptorBob Cassilly, who struck Toth several times before pulling him away from the statue.[2]
.png)
Toth (Hungarian:Tóth László) was born on 1 July 1938 inPilisvörösvár,Hungary to a Catholic family. After graduating with a degree in geology, he moved to Australia in 1965. As his English was poor and his geology diploma was not recognised, he initially worked at a soap factory. In June 1971, he moved to Rome, Italy, knowing no Italian, intending to become recognised as Christ. He sent letters toPope Paul VI and unsuccessfully attempted to meet him.[3][4]
At 33 years of age (the traditional age of Jesus at his death) on the Feast ofPentecost, Toth, wielding ageologist's hammer and shouting "I am Jesus Christ—risen from the dead",[3][1] attacked the statue. Following his arrest, Toth repeated his claim that he was Christ and said that God had compelled him to destroy the statue because Christ, being eternal, could not have a mother. Toth was deported back to Australia, where psychiatrists did not consider him dangerous, and has not been heard of since.[5] He was not charged with a criminal offence after the incident.
After some debate, it was decided to perform as close to an "invisible" restoration as possible. Restorers took five months to identify over 100 fragments and reattached them using glue along with powder fromCarrara marble[6] (discovering in the process a hitherto unknown initial M carved on Mary's palm by the sculptor[7]). The restored statue went back on display ten months after the attack, now separated from the public by a pane of bullet-proof glass.[6][better source needed]