Vatican, Rome in lockdown mode for Francis's funeral

With royals, presidents and hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful heading to Rome following Pope Francis's death, Italy and the Vatican are rolling out a massive security plan.Francis's funeral will take place on Saturday 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 meanwhile lying in state in St Peter's Basilica, drawing tens of thousands of mourners."We've been on alert since Monday," when the 88-year-old Francis died, said a member of the Swiss Guard, the army responsible for the pope's security, famed for their colourful striped uniforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.