Pope Francis' funeral will feature huge security operation in Rome

Our history goes back more than 200 years,

he says

It was a brief but intense moment next to his body,

said Italian citizen Massimo Palo, 63

We're here and we hope it will go as well as possible, with people leaving because of the rain,

joked Soria, although the sun soon returned

He was a pope amongst his flock, amongst his people, and I hope the next papacies will be a bit like his,

he added

We have heads of state from all over the world, members of several royal families and a host of other dignitaries, so it's huge security operation but we are prepared for anything.

A source said

A guard told us that if we took photos, we would have to delete them or our phones would be confiscated.

One man said

Some delegations will want to stay in Rome for some time, others, the vast majority we are registering at this moment, will leave immediately after the funeral,

Ciciliano said, stressing the difficulty of handling so many arrivals and departures

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 on Thursday