An Italian bride wore a swimsuit to escape the heat and celebrated Mass at sea.
According to foreign media reports such as the British Guardian on the 27th local time, a priest who celebrated Mass using a flat tube as an altar was investigated by the Italian authorities.
Father Mattia Bernasconi, 36, of the Archdiocese of Milan, has led a summer camp for high school students from the 17th in Crotone, a port city in southern Italy.
He had planned to hold an outdoor mass on Sunday among the trees to escape the heat, but the bride, who could not find shade, was suggested by a family nearby to use a mattress-type tube as an altar and to go into the water with her devotees in swimsuits.
Locals posted pictures of the scene online, photographing the bride with her torso removed and the worshipers sitting on the beach in swimsuits celebrating Mass.
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The Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina, who heard the news, demanded "respect for the Mass" and said in a statement, "It is possible to hold Mass outside the church in certain special cases, such as retreats, school camps, vacation spots, etc. However, in order to do it in an appropriate way, we need to communicate with church leaders.”
In an interview with the local media, the prosecutor in charge said, "Fr Mattia Bernasconi is being investigated for allegedly committing insults to religion."
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Father Mattia Bernasconi also posted an apology on the official website of the local diocese on the 27th, saying, "I admit that my decision may have been rash. But I had no intention of profaning the Mass."
Local netizens have mixed opinions, such as "An example of ruining the Holy Mass because you are too free" and "The change is coming like this. There is no need to apologize to anyone."
(Photo = Twitter, Mattia Bernasconi Facebook, local parish website)