Woman Knocks Over Pope at Christmas Eve Mass

A woman reportedly bounded over barriers and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI at a Christmas Eve Mass, pictured here at a previous event with Michelle Obama, in Rome on Thursday.

The Associated Press says footage aired on Italian television shows a woman in red jumping the barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and charging the pope as he and his procession walked to the church's main altar. Bodyguards proceeded to contain the woman.

The pope, 82, got up quickly and was uninjured, said Rev. Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman. Benedettini said the woman who shoved the pope seemed mentally unstable and was arrested by Vatican police. A cardinal was also knocked over and taken to the hospital for an examination.