Woman Hits Pope and Knocks Him Down

Pope Benedict, XVI, Christmas, Vatican, woman, knocked, down, fall, mass, St. Peter

A woman got past security at the Vatican during Christmas mass and knocked Pope Benedict XVI down on Thursday. The Pope, 82, rebounded and picked himself back up.

The assailant woman allegedly was mentally unstable and also knocked down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, says the New York Times:

The incident in St. Peter’s was the second high-profile security breach in Italy this month. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spent several days in the hospital after a man with mental problems struck him in the face with a statuette of the Milan cathedral, breaking his nose and two teeth at a campaign rally in Milan.

The woman was arrested, said officials. The BBC says:

During last year’s Mass, a woman also jumped the barriers and got close to the Pope but was quickly restrained by security officials.

It was not immediately known if it was the same woman who pushed Benedict on Thursday.

The Vatican said earlier that the decision to move the midnight Mass to 2200 (2100 GMT) was “to make Christmas a little less tiring for the Pope, who has many engagements”.

Raw Story says:

He said the move was aimed at making Christmas “a little less tiring for the pope, who has many engagements during this time”.

Notably, Pope Benedict is to deliver his traditional “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) message broadcast to dozens of countries at noon on Friday.

Pope Benedict’s long-serving predecessor John Paul II insisted on observing the tradition of beginning the mass at midnight despite years of ill health, notably the ravages of Parkinson’s disease, at the end of his life.