Bigwigs, elaborate security op as world readies for Pope Francis’ final send-off

Vatican City: Heads of state and royalty will start converging on Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, but the group of poor people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis’ humble persona and

disdain for pomp.

US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei are among the leaders arriving Friday, the last day Argentine pope will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica before his coffin is sealed in the evening in preparation for his funeral Saturday.

The Vatican said 130 delegations are confirmed, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns. More than 200,000 people are expected.

Tens of thousands of mourners have waited hours in line to bid farewell to Francis, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88.

A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilica’s opening hours overnight.

By Friday morning, more than 128,000 people had filed past Francis’ open coffin placed in front of the basilica’s main altar to pay their respects.

Mourners filed past at times praying, at times holding smart phones aloft — despite instructions not to — for a photo of the late pontiff laid out in red robes, a bishop’s pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands.

St. Peter’s Basilica remained open most of the second night, closing for just a few hours. Mourners began arriving before dawn, and sprinted into the piazza when security reopened the flows.

The three days of public viewing are scheduled to end at 7 pm on Friday, after which Francis simple wooden coffin will be sealed.

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. “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, said.

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.