Woman knocks Benedict down

VATICAN CITY – A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter’s Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass.

The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt, said a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini.

Footage aired on Italy’s RAI state TV showed a woman dressed in a red, hooded sweatshirt vaulting over the wooden barriers and rushing toward the pope before being swarmed by bodyguards.

Video shot by a witness showed the woman grabbing the pope’s vestments as she was taken down, with Benedict seemingly falling on top of her.

The commotion occurred as the pope’s procession was making its way toward the main altar and shocked gasps rang out through the public that packed the basilica.

Benedettini said the woman who pushed the pope appeared to be mentally unstable and had been arrested by Vatican police. He said she also knocked down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who was taken to a hospital for a checkup.

“During the procession an unstable person jumped a barrier and knocked down the Holy Father,” Benedettini told the Associated Press by telephone. “(The pope) quickly got up and continued the procession.”

MaryBeth Burns, of Paris, Texas, was near the woman who jumped the barriers and was filming the pope’s procession as the commotion started.

“I’m really mad because I had a perfect shot lined up,” she said. “I’m still shaking.” Burns, who was visiting Italy with her family on a pilgrimage for Christmas, said guards immediately pulled the woman to the ground and the pope tumbled with them.

Benedict lost his miter and his staff in the fall. He remained on the ground for a few seconds before being helped back up by attendants. At that point a few shouts of “Viva il papa!” (Long live the pope!) rang out, followed by cheers from the faithful, witnesses said.

After getting up, Benedict, flanked by tense bodyguards, resumed his walk to the basilica’s main altar to start the Mass.