From the gendarmes to the meals, security for the Pope in the hospital

It is a small circle of total trust made up of doctors, prelates and gendarmes who "watch over" Pope Leo who has been hospitalized since Tuesday at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for the removal of a lower lobe of the lung.

Around the left wing of the tenth floor, the long corridor reserved for the solvent departments where Prevost and the papal family were housed while the traditional healthcare apartment of the popes is being renovated, there is maximum secrecy. Access, both from the stairs and from the elevators, is closed and every slightest movement around the 'VIP' wing is monitored by a select corps of around 25 gendarmes who alternate night and day. So trusted that they are the only ones who have the keys to the pontifical apartment, although not currently in use.

Along with Leone, some members of the Swiss Guard were also involved in security at the Gemelli, while in the external areas of the hospital a system of police from the Vatican Inspectorate is also present and now well established.

Little or nothing filters out from the tenth floor. The sanitary cordon around the Pope has the aim of allowing him to spend as private a stay as possible, even though it is housed in a hospital complex crowded every day with hundreds of patients. The Pope's "guardian angels" follow him at all times. On Tuesday, in the operating room, in addition to the medical team and the anesthetists, there were Leone's personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the commander of the Gendarmerie Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti, as required by protocol.

But the hospital also contributes to the absolute privacy of the pope, using some tricks so that Leone's tests cannot be captured by unwanted hands: stratagems such as pseudonyms, changing his age or even a specific code can be put so that those who know him can find them. The Pope's meals are also filtered, carefully prepared by the nuns on the tenth floor according to the diet prescribed by the medical team that assists him.

And if today is the day of absolute rest, there is still a coming and going from the Vatican of trusted collaborators carrying dossiers and documents, in case the Pope needs to consult them or be informed of them. But with a dropper, so as not to overload it. Also for this reason, perhaps, not many in the hospital seem to want to tell details about Pope Prevost's hospitalization. “We want to ensure he gets maximum rest,” they whisper. However, we learned something: late in the morning some bouquets of white flowers arrived for the Pontiff accompanied by wishes for a speedy recovery.