Castel Gandolfo, Italy  - Vatican security guards moved Saturday to restrain a woman who began shouting out in German during a mass presided by Pope Benedict XVI, news reports said.

The incident happened after the German-born Benedict had delivered his homily at a parish church in Castel Gandolfo, a town south of Rome which hosts the pontiff's summer residence.

The woman, described as a 35-year-old, was in a "trance-like" state and made no attempt to resist the guards when they escorted her out of the church, the ANSA newsagency said.

The 82-year-old Benedict, was celebrating the traditional August 15 mass for the feast of the Assumption, when the Roman Catholic Church marks the ascent to heaven of Jesus' mother, Mary. (dpa)