Groups of faithful have already started to arrive in the Italian capital early in the early hours of Tuesday (22) to Pope Francis’ funeral ,. Many of them aim to cross the holy door of the Basilica – symbolic tradition that marks the holy years of the Catholic Church.
The Pope’s funeral should mobilize one of the biggest security schemes in Rome’s recent history and attract an estimated crowd of more than 1.5 million people throughout the week. Funeral Mass will bring together at least 200 heads of state and government, including Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Donald Trump (USA), Javier Milei (Argentina) and Emmanuel Macron (France).
The date of the funeral will be confirmed by the cardinals that begin on Tuesday (22) the farewell ceremonies and preparations for the conclave. , which is being privately veiled in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, should be transferred to the Basilica of St. Peter on Wednesday (23).
The Vatican and the Italian government set up a special operation to receive delegations and control the flow of the faithful. Only for the farewell mass in St. Peter’s Square 300,000 people are expected. The surroundings of the Holy See has already dawned with restricted accesses, strong police presence and strict control measures.
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The event is expected to exceed, in number of authorities present, the funeral of Pope John Paul II, in 2005, which brought together about 3 million people over six days and 500 thousand only on Mass Day.
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In addition to security challenges, the funeral takes place amid the church jubilee, an event that was already attracting pilgrims from around the world. The intense movement of the faithful in the railway and airport stations led the Italian government to appoint Fabio Ciciliano, a civil protection manager, as an extraordinary commissioner to coordinate logistics.
