Woman knocks down Pope
Saturday, 26 December 2009
VATICAN CITY, Dec 25 (Reuters): A woman the Vatican described as unstable jumped over a barricade, lunged at Pope Benedict and knocked him to the floor at the start of his Christmas eve mass in St Peter's Basilica.
The 82-year-old pope was apparently not harmed and went on to finish the two-hour service late Thursday, but an elderly French cardinal in the papal procession fell to the floor and was taken to hospital with a broken leg.
Television pictures showed the woman, dressed in a red top, jumping over the barricade and hurling herself at the pope, provoking screams from members of the congregation. The woman grabbed the pontiff's vestments as she was taken down by a security guard, and both she and the pope then fell to the marble floor.
The 82-year-old pope was apparently not harmed and went on to finish the two-hour service late Thursday, but an elderly French cardinal in the papal procession fell to the floor and was taken to hospital with a broken leg.
Television pictures showed the woman, dressed in a red top, jumping over the barricade and hurling herself at the pope, provoking screams from members of the congregation. The woman grabbed the pontiff's vestments as she was taken down by a security guard, and both she and the pope then fell to the marble floor.