A philosophy professor arrested for walking into New York's famed St Patrick's Cathedral with gas cans and lighters had booked a one-way flight to Rome and was caught trespassing at another church on Monday. Marc Lamparello, 37, entered the Manhattan church on Wednesday evening with the two gallon cans of gasoline before being apprehended by security at around 8pm on Wednesday night. It has emerged that he had also booked a one-way ticket for Rome, scheduled to depart Thursday night, the New York Daily News. Marc Lamparello, 37, (pictured) was arrested Wednesday after entering St Patrick's Cathedral church with two gallon cans of gasoline and two lighters. He is seen here being escorted out of a police precinct in New York, Thursday Officials also confirmed he was arrested for criminal trespass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark just two days earlier - the same day that Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was almost destroyed by a massive blaze. Lamparello is a Boston College-educated philosophy professor who has lectured at Lehman College and also held several roles in the Catholic church. On Thursday, his father insisted that he was completely surprised by the Manhattan arrest just 48 hours after a massive blaze nearly destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. 'Extremely out of character,' said his father, who lives in New Jersey and did not wish to be named. Lamparello, (pictured), was arrested for criminal trespass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark two days earlier - the same day that a massive blaze destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris 'He’s a brilliant professor. His writings -- other professors can’t even understand his writings. Something happened, we don’t know.' While police have indicated that Lamparello might be emotionally disturbed, he sounded fine earlier Wednesday in a conversation with his father. His father added: 'I spoke to him (Wednesday) morning. 'It was just, "Hi Daddy, how are you, how are you feeling?". 'Then last night was like what the hell? That’s all I can tell you.' He said they family were waiting to hear from the NYPD and had no details about the case other than initial reports about the arrest. Police said that four cans of gasoline were found in total after searching the suspect's van. Charges are now pending against Lamparello, who claimed he was cutting through the cathedral with the gasoline because his car had run out of gas on Madison Avenue, near the rear of the church. However when cops located the vehicle, they discovered that he wasn't telling the truth. It emerged that he had booked a one-way ticket for Rome, scheduled to depart Thursday night and a day after he was arrested at St Patrick's Cathedral with two gas cans and two lighters Police do not yet know what Lamparello's motive was but sources have indicated that he could possibly be 'emotionally disturbed' and has been previously arrest for criminal trespass Sources told New York Daily News that they have yet to find out Lamparello's motive and what his intentions were before he was apprehended. The New Jersey native has previous arrests for criminal trespass and public drunkenness, sources added. The trespassing occurred on Monday, when officers from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department went to Sacred Heart Cathedral and placed him under arrest. Lamparello studied at CUNY student and is currently doing a Ph.D. in philosophy. He also worked as an adjunct lecturer in the Lehman College philosophy department and held a teaching position at Brooklyn College. He served as the musical director and pianist at St. Joseph’s parish in East Rutherord for a short period of time. He also served as the musical director and pianist at St. Joseph’s parish in East Rutheford for a short period of time. NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counter Terrorism John Miller confirmed they had increased security at the site in recent days, The New York Post reports. He called Lamperallo's actions 'very suspicious'. Police say the 37-year-old man entered the Manhattan church with the two 2 gallon cans of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid and two extended lighters At a press conference Wednesday evening he said: 'It's hard to say what his intentions were, but I think the totality of circumstances of an individual walking into an iconic location like St. Patrick's Cathedral carrying over four gallons of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid and lighters is something that we would have great concern over.' NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counter Terrorism John Miller confirmed they had increased security at the site in recent days, The New York Post reports. He called Lamperallo's actions 'very suspicious'. Pictures posted online on Wednesday show a large police presence outside the church, which was open at the time of the incident At a press conference Wednesday evening he said: 'It's hard to say what his intentions were, but I think the totality of circumstances of an individual walking into an iconic location like St. Patrick's Cathedral carrying over four gallons of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid and lighters is something that we would have great concern over.' The suspect has an active online presence and, in 2018, he criticized a news story about French people disliking President Donald Trump more than Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He wrote: 'All I know is, if the French dislike us for something, we must be doing something right. 'They think they're so much more sophisticated and culturally alluring than us. But secretly, they're jealous of us and want to be us. Never forget that, fellow Americans.' St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was built in 1878, has installed a sprinkler-like system during recent renovations and its wooden roof is coated with fire retardant Lamparello's brother Adam told The Daily Beast: 'Oh my god. I'm shocked this could even be true. I'm almost speechless. This is something that is so not him. I don't know what to even say.' The archdiocese said the man was stopped as entered the landmark cathedral and there was no fire. 'Nothing happened inside the cathedral', they said. The man is understood to have been taken into custody after being apprehended by security at the cathedral. NBC reports he is 'emotionally disturbed'. After spilling some of the gasoline he is said to have left the church but was quickly found by nearby counter-terrorism police after church staff alerted them to the incident. The suspect is said to have told cops he was cutting through the cathedral to get to his minivan, pictured right, which had run out of gas Police say it is too early to say whether the incident was terror related but it comes three days after the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller confirmed they had increased security at the site in recent days The suspect is said to have told cops he was cutting through the cathedral to get to his minivan which had run out of gas, giving them 'inconsistent and evasive' answers when questioned. Miller said: 'His basic story was that he was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue, that his car had run out of gas. We took a look at the vehicle. It was not out of gas.' Pictures showed a large police presence outside the church, which was open at the time of the incident. Miller added: 'There was some very good work done here, obviously by the St. Patrick's Cathedral security officer who encountered this man immediately inside as well as the two police officers who tracked him down.' St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was built in 1878, has installed a sprinkler-like system during recent renovations and its wooden roof is coated with fire retardant. A devastating blaze struck the 850-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday destroying the roof and spire. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility