POPE LEO XIV claimed he was attacked on the street by a passerby while on a visit to Ireland up to 20 years ago.

The claim is detailed in a resurfaced video from 2019 from an appearance the pope made while serving as Bishop Robert Prevost.

He recounted the incident during a discussion in Peru about child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Prevost used it as an example of the ‘rapid change’ in Irish society’s view of the clergy following multiple child abuse scandals that engulfed the Catholic Church.

“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,” the then-bishop says in the video.

“I have never seen such a radical change and rapid change as we are experiencing in Ireland, especially because of this scandal,” Prevost told his audience in 2019.

“Where before, around 2005 you could go to Ireland and if you were a priest people almost wanted to carry you on their shoulders. And I’m not exaggerating much, maybe a little, but it was incredible,” he said.

Prevost added that members of the clergy visiting Ireland were previously treated with “love, respect and adulation” but warned that the “crisis” brought by the child abuse scandal had hardened attitudes.

“After the crisis, never in my life, anywhere in the world have I been attacked as I was in Ireland. Just for going out on the street -a man passes by, he looks at me, ‘You’re a priest’ and he starts attacking me. Fortunately, another Augustinian, who is twice as big as me, defended me.”

Prevost said he believed there was a “pain and anger” from the man who attacked him.

“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.”

He does not specify when the attack took place but Leo twice visited Ireland previously.

The first was in June 2005 for the anniversary of his Augustinian order in a number of parts of the country, and the second took place two years later. His comments indicate the incident took place after his 2005 visit.