Pope Leo reveals he was assaulted during visit to Ireland

James Cox

Pope Leo has revealed he was physically assaulted during a visit to Ireland.

In a recently resurfaced video from 2019, he detailed how a person set upon him in the street after saying "you're a priest".

Addressing a conference in Peru, the then-bishop referenced how attitudes to Catholicism have dramatically changed, especially in Ireland since the clerical abuse scandal broke in the 1990s.

“Never in my life, anywhere in the world, have I been physically attacked as I was in Ireland, for just going out on the street.

“A man passes by, he looks at me [and says] ‘you’re a priest’ – and he starts attacking me. Fortunately, another Augustinian, who is twice as big as me, came to defend me.”

He added: "“I don’t know if he was a victim or had lost faith in the church, I have no idea what happened to him. But I truly believe it is a very important factor in the experience here in the church as well.”

It is unclear when the attack took place, but Pope Leo is known to have visited Ireland twice, in 2005 and 2007.