Susanna Maiolo, dressed in a red shirt and pants, jumped the barriers at St. Peter’s on Christmas Eve at the beginning of the Mass and managed to knock down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray and cause Pope Benedict XVI to fall to the floor. Security officers subdued the acrobatic Swiss-Italian woman, and the pope was ruffled by otherwise unharmed. Unfortunately, Cardinal Etchegaray suffered a broken femur and had to be hospitalized.
The 25-year-old Maiolo managed to reach the pope and grasp the tails of his pallium – the white stole marked with black crosses hanging from his shoulders that signifies his role as universal shepherd of the Church.
It emerged on Christmas Day that it was Maiolo, also dressed in red, who tried to vault the same barriers on Christmas Eve in 2008. She did not manage to assault the 82-year-old pope at that time and was wrestled to the ground by officers. Commentators are calling into question the proficiency of the pope's security retinue.
The pope went on to celebrate the so-called Midnight Mass two hours earlier than usual. On Christmas Day, the pope gave his Urbi et Orbi homily in a strong firm voice. As for 87-year-old Cardinal Etchegaray, he has been hospitalized at the Gemelli Clinic where he is being treated for a fracture in the ball of his femur. He will undergo surgery in the next few days.
Pope Benedict was to be the subject of an assault in 2007 when a young German man attempted to board the papal vehicle as it made its way to St. Peter’s.
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