Pope visits cardinal injured in Christmas incident

(January 11, 2009) Pope Benedict paid a surprise hospital visit on Saturday night to an aged cardinal who was injured when a mentally unstable woman lunged at the pontiff at the start of the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray broke his leg on Dec. 24 when 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo jumped over a barricade in the church and grabbed the Pope’s vestments, causing him to fall over. The pope was not hurt but the 87-year old cardinal fell too, broke his femur and underwent surgery in late December. The Vatican said the Pope spent about a half hour with Cardianl Etchegaray, at Rome's Gemelli hospital. Maiolo, a Swiss-Italian, is currently being held in an Italian psychiatric institution. The Vatican also noted that the cardinal was able to accompany Pope Benedict walking to the door, and that he will most likely be discharged from the hospital sometime this week.