World | Pope Benedict XVI Pope Bounces Back, Visits Soup Kitchen Security heavy for first trip since Christmas Eve attack By Marie Morris Posted Dec 27, 2009 4:48 PM CST Copied In this photo released by the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, Pope Benedict XVI, in white in foreground, arrives at a lunch in a soup kitchen in Rome, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, HO) On his first trip outside the Vatican since being knocked to the ground in a Christmas Eve incident at St. Peter's, Pope Benedict XVI visited a soup kitchen in Rome today. The pontiff, 82, was unharmed when a woman vaulted a barrier and accosted him before Mass. Today he mingled with an appreciative crowd and distributed Christmas gifts to children at the institution, which serves the homeless, reports the Telegraph. Read These Next Hopes emerge of a shutdown deal next week. South Korea gives Trump a foot-tall crown. Poster freed after a month in jail over Trump meme. Buzz Aldrin says goodbye to the 'love of my life.' Report an error