ST. LOUIS – One of St. Louis’ most well-known and favorite spots to visit is the City Museum. But something that may be not-so-known is that the museum’s creator is in the history books for something other than his work in St. Louis.

Bob Cassilly was a born and raised St. Louisan from the Webster Groves area and an alumni of Vianney High School and Fontbonne University. While working to obtain his bachelor’s degree in art from Fontbonne, Cassilly met his future wife, Cecelia Davidson, who was also an artist.

Twenty seven years before the City Museum would open, Cassilly and his wife took off on their honeymoon to Rome in May 1972. What they likely expected as a relaxing trip quickly altered into a highly-intense moment while visiting Michelangelo’s centuries-old sculpture La Pietà on May 21.

Faithful walk past Michelangelo’s Pieta’ at the end of a mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Day of the Poor in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Upon their visit to the artwork that was created in 1499, 33-year-old Hungarian geologist Lazlo Toth was also touring the St. Peter’s Basilica statue from his new home of Australia, but for different reasons.

According to Wanted in Rome, Toth announced to the public that he was Jesus Christ, resurrecting from the dead before striking the sculpture’s marble 15 times with a hammer. The New York Times reported that the sculpture suffered from “grave damage” which included breaking the statue’s arm and several features of the face.

While other visitors stood and watched in horror, it was Cassilly who stepped in to pull Toth away from the sculpture, preventing even further damage. Cassilly told People Magazine in 1997 that he leapt up and grabbed Toth’s beard to bring him down.

“We both fell into the crowd of screaming Italians. It was somewhat of a scene,” he told the publication at the time.

While crews worked to restore the damage Toth had done to the sculpture, Italian police deemed Toth as “socially dangerous” and confined him for two years in a mental hospital, according to the New York Times.

Just a little over 20 years after the incident, Cassilly purchased the building along N. 16th Street that would become the City Museum in 1997.

If you’ve seen the new movie “The Brutalist” recently, the name Lazlo Toth may sound familiar as it is the same name of the main character, who was also Hungarian.

Despite the similarities that sound rare to have, one of the co-writers of the film confirmed to USA Today that it was “just a coincidence,” noting that the name is common in Hungary like the name John Smith in the U.S. Rather, the character was inspired by architects Paul Rudolph, Louis Kahn, and Marcel Breuer.

Following the incident, the statue was fully restored in less than a year, reopening to the public on Dec. 21, 1972, with a new addition of bulletproof glass surrounding–which still stands today.