Vatican: Pope to appear for Christmas after woman knocks him down; cardinal fractures hip

Pope fine for Christmas blessing after fall

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI is fine and will appear as planned for his traditional Christmas Day blessing hours after being knocked down by a woman who jumped the barrier at the start of Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said Friday.

French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, an 87-year-old Vatican diplomat, fractured his hip in the fall and will be operated on at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said.

Lombardi identified the woman as Susanna Maiolo, 25, a Swiss-Italian national with psychiatric problems. He said Maiolo, who was not armed, was taken to a clinic for necessary treatment.

The woman jumped the barricade and lunged for the pope as he processed down the aisle toward the altar. As security guards brought her down, she grabbed Benedict’s vestments and pulled him down with her, according to witness video obtained by The Associated Press.

With the help of attendants, Benedict stood up and continued to process down the aisle, to the cheers of “Viva il Papa!” (”Long live the pope”). He continued to celebrate the Mass without incident. Lombardi said Benedict’s busy Christmas schedule would proceed without change.

Etchegaray’s condition was good, he added.

It was the second year in a row that there had been a security breach at the Christmas Eve service and was the first time a potential attacker came into direct contact with Benedict during his five-year papacy. Security analysts have frequently warned the pope is too exposed in his public appearances.

At the end of last year’s Mass, a woman who had jumped the barriers got close to the pope but was quickly blocked on the ground by security.

That woman too wore a red hooded sweat shirt, but Benedettini said it was not immediately known if the same person was behind Thursday’s incident.

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.

After getting up, Benedict, flanked by tense bodyguards, resumed his walk to the basilica’s main altar to start the Mass. The pope, who broke his right wrist in a fall this summer, appeared unharmed but somewhat shaken and leaned heavily on aides and an armrest as he sat down in his chair.

Benedict made no reference to the disturbance after the service started. As a choir sang, he sprinkled incense on the altar before opening the Mass with the traditional wish for peace in Latin.

There have been other security breaches at the Vatican.

In 2007, during an open-air audience in St. Peter’s Square, a mentally unstable German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of the pope’s open car before being swarmed by security guards.

Then there was the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca in 1981. John Paul suffered a severe abdominal wound as he rode in an open jeep at the start of his weekly audience in the Vatican piazza.

The pope is protected by a combination of Swiss Guards, Vatican police and Italian police.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., the Vatican has tightened security at events where the pope is present. All visitors must pass by police to get into the square, with those entering the basilica going through metal detectors or being scanned by metal-detecting wands.

However, Sister Samira, an Indian aide to Vatican officials who attended the service and saw the incident, said she is never searched by security when she attends papal Masses, and said the same holds true for other people in religious garb.

In a similar incident, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was attacked as he was greeting the crowd at a political rally earlier this month. A man with a history of psychological problems hurled a souvenir statuette at the politician, fracturing his nose and breaking two of his teeth.

Benedict celebrated this year’s Christmas Eve Mass two hours earlier than the usual midnight starting time in a move by the Vatican to ease the pontiff’s busy holiday schedule.

Benedict has been remarkably healthy during his pontificate, keeping to a busy schedule and traveling around the world.

But in July, he broke his wrist during a late-night fall while vacationing in an Alpine chalet and had to have minor surgery and wear a cast for a month — an episode that highlights the risk he ran in Thursday’s tumble.

In his homily, delivered unflappably after the incident, the pope urged the world to “wake up” from selfishness and petty affairs, and find time for God and spiritual matters.

In Bethlehem, thousands of pilgrims from around the world descended on the traditional birthplace of Jesus, for the most upbeat Christmas celebrations the Palestinian town has seen in years.

Hundreds of worshippers packed St. Catherine’s Church on Manger Square for morning mass. Most were local Palestinian Christians, and the mass was celebrated in Arabic.

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AP writers Mark Lavie and Dalia Nammari in Bethlehem contributed to this report.