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Police arrested a man who used his car to force open a gate at the Vatican City on Thursday evening after having been refused entry, said officials at the Holy See.
After a medical examination doctors concluded that he was mentally ill.
The incident happened just after 20:00, when the man turned up at one of the Vatican's entrances.
When the Swiss Guard on patrol there turned him away because he did not have a pass, he came back driving "at great speed, forcing the two checkpoints," said the statement.
A member of the Vatican's gendarme force shot out one of the tyres, but the car kept moving. Officers sounded an alert and all other access points to the Vatican were sealed off.
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When the car finally came to a halt the driver got out of his own accord and was arrested, said the statement.
He was subjected to a medical examination which determined that he suffered from a "serious psychophysical" condition.
The man, whose identity has not been released, is being detained in a cell at the Vatican pending an investigation, the statement added.
