A cell phone camera was one of many being used to capture images of the pontiff. As the pope was knocked down, video of the woman's act was caught. The woman, apparently unstable, jumped the barriers and knocked him down on his way to the altar.
The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt. Footage aired on Italy's RAI state TV showed a woman dressed in a red hooded sweatshirt leaping over the wooden barriers and rushing toward the pope before being swarmed by bodyguards. Video shot by a witness showed the woman grabbing the pontiff's vestments as she was taken down, with Benedict apparently falling on top of her.
The Christmas eve mass had been moved up two hours to 2100 GMT or 10 PM, to ease the strain on the Pope during the busy Christmas season. Vatican spokespeople dispelled the rumors that the pope was ill.
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