VATICAN CITY: A deranged woman knocked Pope Benedict XVI to the ground after vaulting over security barricades before the Christmas Eve mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Video footage showed the woman in a red sweatshirt leaping over the barricade and grabbing the 82-year-old pope before the start of the mass.
The pontiff emerged unharmed and later delivered his speech.
Italian-Swiss national Susanna Maiolo, 25, described as “apparently unbalanced” by the Vatican spokesman, was arrested by Vatican police, the ANSA news agency reported. She was later hospitalized and will undergo necessary treatment. The attack on pope highlighted the headache of providing watertight security for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Maiolo leapt over a security barricade and dragged the pontiff to the floor. French Cardinal Paul Poupard, who was with Benedict at the time of the assault, said the incident was “definitely a threat” to the pope and that security should have been tighter.
Pope Benedict has faced down attempted assaults and terrorist threats in the past — most recently last Christmas when the same woman, Maiolo, tried to grab him before being restrained by bodyguards.
In June 2007, a 27-year-old German man jumped the security barrier and boarded the popemobile as it passed before a crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
Enrico Marinelli, a former head of the Vatican police force, said overzealous personal protection would make the pontiff’s job more difficult.
“Having full security around the head of the Catholic Church could limit his pastoral activity,” he said.
