New York, Jul 16 (IANS): A Brazilian Catholic priest, known across the country for his popular sermons, was seen violently knocked off stage by a woman at a religious event in Sao Paulo in a video that has gone viral over social media.

Father Marcelo Rossi, who is said to have sold millions of musical records, was delivering mass, being streamed to the internet, at a youth event being held at the headquarters of a Catholic community when the incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, media reports said.

The footage, trending wildly on YouTube, shows the woman, who is wearing a white T-shirt, carrying a handbag and apparently smiling, running at Rossi from his right side and knocking him off the stage as the audience and others on stage watch in horror. As the priest topples off, the microphone picks up the sound.

Rossi was not seriously injured and soon returned to the stage to complete his sermon, in which he also made reference to the incident.

The woman - who has not been identified - was detained by the local police but Rossi has said that he will not press charges.

A Brazilian news portal, citing the police, said the woman, who is 32 and came for the youth event from Rio de Janeiro, is believed to have mental health problems.