Bishop punched in the head during mass

A US bishop has been punched in the face in the middle of a crowded mass while paying homage to a baseball player.

More than 100 parishioners, including a handful of local police, were crowded inside Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.

They were celebrating the life of Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente, who died in 1972.

As Bishop Manuel Cruz was delivering his sermon, Charles Miller stood up from his pew and punched him in the jaw.

A police officer cautiously tailed Miller down the aisle then tackled the 48-year-old to the ground while an altar boy cradled Cruz.

Parishioner Mark Bonamo described the attack as "horrific," CBS reports.

"As a former altar boy a lot of people thought, ‘oh he might be part of mass,’ but I myself thought it was little odd out of the gate, then when he walked up and hit the man in the face. People were shocked. Some people ducked, others screamed," he said.

The bishop said he needed 30 stitched to his mouth.

"I am in pain. I’m a little frightened inside. I’m only a human being, but otherwise I am okay," he said.

Miller has been charged with assault.