An activist of a self-proclaimed 'sextremist' group was caught on camera celebrating Mother's Day - by appearing topless in Vatican City.
Visitors to St Peter's Square looked on shocked as a mother from the radical feminist group Femen was grabbed by police while breastfeeding her child in the middle of passing crowds.
The woman had the words 'alma mater' scrawled across her bare chest, which is the Latin meaning for 'mother feeding.'
The woman had the words 'alma mater' scrawled across her bare chest, which is the Latin meaning for 'mother feeding'
Femen have revealed that the stunt was aimed at getting Pope Francis to acknowledge the right of all mothers to be able to breastfeed whenever and wherever they want.
In January, Francis encouraged mothers to breastfeed their babies if they were hungry during an extended ceremony at the Sistine Chapel where he baptised 34 infants.
He said at the time: 'If they start performing a concert (by crying), or if they are uncomfortable or too warm or don't feel at ease or are hungry ... breastfeed them, don't be afraid, feed them, because this too is the language of love.'
Femen also added that the display was deliberately staged on May 13 as a Mother's Day dedication.
Posting on their website, Femen said that journalists covering the event were also arrested, with police 'illegally confiscating photos and video materials' taken by most of them.
The sextremist group have a history of staging protests at the Vatican.
Back in December, a topless activist from the Femen tried to steal baby Jesus from a nativity scene on Christmas Day.
And the day before the group staged another protest at the Vatican, with the demonstrators bearing the words #MeToo and 'assaulted by church' all over their bodies.
The group was founded in Ukraine in 2008 and has become known for its topless stunts against government, religious, and other public institutions.
After leaving Ukraine in 2013, claiming it feared for the 'lives and freedoms' of its members, it has since branched out to a number of other countries, with its main headquarters located in Paris.
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