Following Pope Francis’s death, royals, Presidents, and hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful are heading to Rome Italy, and the Vatican is rolling out a massive security plan.
Peak Newspaper Nigeria had earlier reported that the Pope’s funeral will take place on Saturday, April 26 and cardinals have already begun arriving from around the world for both the ceremony and the conclave, the secret voting process to elect a new pope.
The Argentine’s body is lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica, drawing tens of thousands of mourners.
Peak Newspaper Nigeria reports that the political VIP line-up for the funeral includes US President, Donald Trump, France President Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentina’s Javier Milei.The kings of Belgium and Spain as well as the Heir to Britain’s throne, Prince William will be present.Tourists already faced with numerous construction sites in the Italian capital and famously poor public transportation now find themselves at the heart of a lockdown set to last several weeks.
Fighter jets are on stand-by and special police sniper units are deployed on the rooftops of buildings along the Via della Conciliazione, the vast avenue which leads to St. Peter’s Square.Italy’s Civil Protection agency is deploying between 2,000 and 2,500 volunteers to supervise the faithful entering St. Peter’s Square to pay their last respects or attend Francis’s funeral.
Some 500 doctors and nurses from the civil protection and regional health service will be present, with ambulances on standby.
