Security clampdown for Rome
2005-04-08 07:02
Vatican City - The world looked on Rome as leaders from more than 100 nations and a multitude of mourners prepared for the funeral Friday of Pope John Paul II, one of the most cherished pontiffs of recent history.
As pilgrims camped out overnight hoping to snare a prime spot, officials in and outside Saint Peter's basilica worked toward dawn to prepare for a requiem mass of stately splendour.
Rome itself was wrapped in a tight security blanket, a no-fly zone over the city complementing a traffic ban on the streets to protect the dignitaries and mourners from the world over.
In the darkness, hundreds of pilgrims slept on the street hoping to be the first in line when crash barriers onto Saint Peter's Square are opened at 06:00.
Four hours later, at 10:00, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger will lead the mass in front of leaders representing more than half the world's countries and its major religions, as well as many of the two-to-four million pilgrims who have flocked to Rome this week.
'Amazing athmosphere'
Hundreds of millions more are expected to watch the ceremony broadcast live around the world.
Afterward, John Paul II will be buried in the crypt of St Peter's alongside some of his illustrious predecessors, in a tomb marked only by a simple slab.
"There is an amazing atmosphere here, it's fantastic. We're sleeping on the ground, but we're happy," said 18-year-old Christof Kita, camping outside the square after travelling for 27 hours with three relatives from the late pope's native Poland.
Among the leaders who arrived late on Thursday were United Nation Secretary General Kofi Annan and King Juan Carlos of Spain, who knelt in prayer beside his wife Queen Sofia in front of the pope's body.
Other leaders already in the Italian capital include United States President George W Bush, who clashed with the pope over the US-led war on Iraq but who hailed him earlier this week as "one of history's great moral leaders."
On the eve of the funeral, the Vatican published his final testament which disclosed that he had considered resigning five years ago, when he reached the age of 80, as he became increasingly ill.
As security was buttoned down, Rome's second airport, Ciampino, was closed to commercial flights until midnight on Friday, and a no-fly zone over the city itself was being enforced by Italian and NATO aircraft.
Over 10 000 police, military and paramilitary officers, including hundreds of marksmen, were being deployed. Teams with sniffer dogs patrolled.
Police said cars would be banned throughout Rome all day on Friday and that all public offices and schools would close.
The testament, originally written in Polish and published by the Vatican in a seven-page Italian translation, confirmed his lack of materialism.
In it, he said he had left "no property that needs to be disposed of."
- AFP