Photo credit: Courtesy of The White House
When Pope Francis rolls around town on September 23rd for a parade that routes between the Ellipse and a portion of the National Mall, it will be in a Popemobile: The Secret Service will not be far behind; nor will the Vatican Security. Both are responsible for the Pope’s safety.
Top Secret Service personnel including Director Joseph Clancy traveled to Italy in June to prepare for the visit. “I went out to Rome to see firsthand how their detail works, protecting the Pope and what he likes to do and how he travels within the crowds,” said Clancy in an interview with ABC News’ Senior Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas at the Secret Service Rowley Training Center. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says we’re ready. DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier says we’re ready. But are we? It’s a logistical nightmare!
Pope Benedict XVI waves from the Pope-mobile as he passes the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue Wednesday, April 16, 2008, following a welcoming ceremony in his honor on the South Lawn. White House photo by Chris Greenberg
Hollywood on the Potomac asked best-selling author Ron Kessler of In the President’s Secret Service fame to weigh in on how he envisions the Secret Service will be dealing with this: “Most importantly, the Secret Service would want to make sure no one can attach explosives to the underside of the vehicle or otherwise tamper with it prior to it being used by the Pope during his visit here. In addition, the Secret Service would want to insure that it is free of bugging devices or other electronics that might be used to create some catastrophe, perhaps by igniting its fuel supply or remotely controlling the vehicle so it smashes into a building or goes off a bridge.”
Arrival of Pope at White House: President George W. Bush and Laura Bush wave goodbye to Pope Benedict XVI as he prepares to leave the White House Wednesday, April 16th 2008 in the Popemobile following his official welcome to the White House.
To lighten up on the intensity of the preceding paragraph here are some interesting tidbits about the Popemobile that we collected from multiple sources:
It costs over a half million dollars…somewhere in the vicinity of $565,000 – or almost 400 thousand more than a Lamborghini.
Legendary car collector Jay Leno doesn’t have one that we know of.
Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Rover and Fiat have all created Popemobiles.
Bulletproof glass was added to the design after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square.
It’s glass enclosure has its own oxygen supply. It may look slow, but it can actually reach high speeds in case of a hasty papal getaway. Pope Francis isn’t a fan.