VATICAN CITY (AP) — Heads of state and royalty will start converging on Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, but the group of poor people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis’ humble persona and disdain for pomp.

As hundreds of millions of people around the world mourn the passing of Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church is preparing to lay him to rest – an event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of mourners even as costs are likely to be significantly less than those of his predecessors.

From patrols on the River Tiber to surveillance drones and snipers deployed around St. Peter's Square, Rome is preparing to throw a thoroughly modern security shield around the ancient rituals of a papal funeral and its attendant huge crowds.