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Marisa Papen is a 26-year-old Playboy model from Belgium who is known for her controversial photoshoots that sees her posing in the nude in historic locations. On the week of December 16, Papen was arrested and detained for over 10 hours after she posed nude while holding a crucifix in front of the St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Papen’s arrest was not the model’s first time being arrested for her photography choices, as she was previously temporarily imprisoned in Egypt for posing in the nude at the Karnak Temple Complex. Additionally, Papen has been photographed in front of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall. She was also arrested in Turkey after she reportedly exposed herself inside of the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul.
According to The Sun, Papen was arrested at the Vatican after she and Australian photographer Jesse Walker set up a photo shoot that showed Papen carrying a wooden crucifix across a street in front of the Vatican’s St Peter’s Basilica.
Furthermore, a second photograph showed Papen tied to the crucifix with a red cross painted on her forehead and a third photograph depicts Papen sitting on a stack of bibles in St Peter’s Square. The photos were taken as a part of a campaign for ENKI sunglasses.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Papen said that her “biggest problem is with the institutions built around religion” because they are “are driven by money and are soulless.”