Pope Francis visit: Authorities work all night to secure National Stadium for papal mass on Sept 12

SINGAPORE – No stone was left unturned by security agencies in Singapore in ensuring that the National Stadium is free of any potential threats during Pope Francis’ papal mass on Sept 12.

Officers from various units of the Singapore Police Force and the Ministry of Defence were performing detailed venue sweeps when members of the media arrived at the stadium on the night of Sept 11 to observe the multi-level security operation that was under way.

The operation involved a range of checks by at least 90 officers from the Police Security Command and the Singapore Armed Forces’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group (CBRE).

For instance, teams of officers were observed climbing and clearing the access walkways in the stadium’s dome. Hoisted 70m above the ground, they ensured that no suspicious or foreign objects were hidden above the stands.

Meanwhile, bomb-sniffing dogs from the CBRE were spotted moving around the stadium with their handlers, and multiple teams scanned every inch of the stage and ground-level seats to fully secure Singapore’s largest concert venue, which can sit up to 55,000 people.

On Sept 12, about 50,000 Roman Catholics are expected to pack the stadium for a mass led by Pope Francis, who

arrived in Singapore on Sept 11.

While law enforcement officers cleared the stadium, volunteers for the papal mass were also doing their final checks to ensure that the service goes off without a hitch.

It was 11pm when Mr Gabriel Patrick, 36, gave the day’s final briefing to his team of fellow volunteers.

The hospice manager said he jumped at the chance to help out when the opportunity arose, and is part of the multimedia team for the papal mass. Some 5,000 volunteers have been mobilised for the Pope’s three-day visit to the Republic.

“Everyone is excited to see and witness Pope Francis’ presence in our country. I was not even born when Pope John Paul II came in 1986,” he said.

Apart from delivering the homily for the celebratory mass, the Pope is expected to take a lap around the pitch in his Popemobile. Singapore is the final stop of the Pope’s four-nation Asia tour, which started on Sept 2.

Reporters were ushered off the stadium grounds at 2am – some three hours after the operation began – but officers remained to continue the clearance operation.

The Straits Times understands that initial security sweeps and checks in the stadium’s vicinity had started a week earlier, on Sept 6.