On Sunday, May 18, Pope Leo XIV greeted thousands of his followers and world leaders during the Inaugural Mass of his pontificate in St. Peter’s Square. The newly appointed Pope traveled in his popemobile and emerged atop of the specially designed vehicle to interact with the crowds. However, a security expert has raised concerns about his “risky” entrance.
Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, who was elected as the new Pope on May 8, took the name Leo XIV. The new head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics stood in his white popemobile as it drove through the cheering crowds while ignoring a major security protocol.
Pope Leo XIV’s official portrait has been released
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Popemobile is the Pope’s last line of defense
The first official popemobile was Nurburg 460 Pullman by Mercedez-Benz, which was given to Pope Pius XI in 1930. The term ‘popemobile’ was first used in 1965 by English-language media to define the customized vehicle used by Pope Paul VI during a pastoral visit to New York City.
Thus, the popemobile became an important way for the Pope to move through the crowd while greeting them. However, as the years passed, it gradually became the Pope’s last line of defense. It happened in 1981 following the attempted assassination of John Paul II. When Pope John was on his regular routine of greeting his followers at St Peter’s Square, Mehmet Ali Agca started firing bullets from the crowd. The Pope was shot twice. Though he suffered critical injuries, he survived the attack. Meanwhile Agca was sentenced to life behind bars.
After this incident, a major upgrade was done to popemobile by adding bulletproof glass and heavy armor to keep the pontiff safe in case of an assassination attempt. However, Pope Francis, who died this April, let go of the bulletproof glass despite the risks. He believed that it separated him from his followers. Now, as Pope Leo is also avoiding the security protocol to connect to his followers, security expert Will Geddes has shared his concerns.
In a chat with Tyla, Geddes told, “An open top, it’s risky. We’ve seen it with JFK, we’ve seen it with the previous pope [John Paul], we’ve seen it in various other assassinations and attempted assassinations when you have the principal that’s elevated above everyone else so that everyone can see them, with that comes the dilemma of the threat and the increased level of threat.”
He further said, “His security team wouldn’t have allowed him to do that and would have strongly advised against it if they felt that they did not have control of the environments he was going to be driving through – and that’s not just on the ground, that’s also the high ground – people spotters, snipers, alike, who are going to be on rooftops who will have a good overwatch of the crowd below.”
“That would also mean that they’ve got good security on the grounds in controlling and searching and testing for anybody who’s coming into that environment, and ensuring that they didn’t have a repeat of the previous assassination attempt [of Pope John Paul] back in 1981,” Geddes added.
The seagull was at Pope Leo XIV’s mass of inauguration! pic.twitter.com/AWTGAOJpdW
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He highlighted that the Pope’s motive to ignore the protocol was to connect with his followers in a better way. At the same time, he mentioned that Pope must be having strong faith in his security team. Despite this, he mentioned, “I would still be very anxious because you can never assure 100 percent security. The enemy only has to be lucky once.”
Expert Reveals Why Pope Leo XIV Could Be Targeted
Geddes said that there are two reasons why Pope Leo could be targeted. He explained to Tyla, “The first of which is he’s American. Secondly, in these times of Islamic extremism – we’ve been seeing this taking place across various parts of the world, Syria is a very good case in point – where Christians have been targeted, they’ve been killed, and there’s almost been very directed actions towards the Christian community.”
“This in itself presents huge threats in that regard, not only by those die-hard Islamic extremists, but also those who might be willing to promote their agenda,” he concluded.
Citing these reasons, Geddes believes that the Pope must be cautious while making public appearances. While it’s important for the Pope to be approachable and stay connected to his followers, he shall also not ignore the potential threats that could upheaval the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV cheering the crowd atop of his popemobile.
Pope Leo XIV receives the Ring of the Fisherman during the Mass of Inauguration of his pontificate in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, May 18.
