From patrols on the River Tiber to surveillance drones and snipers deployed around St Peter’s Square, Rome is preparing to throw a thoroughly modern security shield around the ancient rituals of a papal funeral and its attendant huge crowds.
More than 200,000 people are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral, taking place tomorrow in the huge Vatican square that sits in front of the Basilica of St Peter, Rome’s public transport company said.
Among them will be dozens of world leaders – including heads of state such as US President Donald Trump and royals from Spain, Sweden and Belgium.
“The most complex aspect is the arrival of many dignitaries from all over the world, who will converge on Rome to go to a single point,” Rome’s police chief, Roberto Massucci, told RTL 102.5 radio yesterday.
Some 2,000 local police officers will be on duty, joined by thousands more officers from the national security forces. Security measures will include patrols on the Tiber, drones, an army device to neutralise hostile flying objects and snipers, a police source told Reuters.
Streets will be closed to traffic around the Vatican and authorities are assessing the best route for the procession that will take the coffin from the funeral to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), where Francis chose to be buried.
He died on Monday aged 88, and tens of thousands of people have filed past his open coffin since it was laid out in St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday. Security officers patrolled St Peter’s Square yesterday as people queued to get into the basilica.
The funeral will start at 10am (11am Bahrain time) tomorrow. Fabio Ciciliano, head of the national Civil Protection Department, said people might gather not only in St Peter’s Square but also along the 4km separating the Vatican from Santa Maria Maggiore, on the other side of the Tiber.
&uuid=(email))