Pope's common touch poses security conundrum

Francis will set an enormous early test for his security detail on Tuesday when tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected to pack the famous square for his inaugural mass -- and he plans to weave his way among them for at least a quarter of an hour.

Finding himself near a Vatican exit and hearing people chanting his name outside, during one of his first days in office, Pope Francis responded with an impromptu walkabout that looks set to become a frequent occurrence.

The new pope spent several minutes shaking hands and cuddling children, apparently taking as much time as he wanted, as security officials and Swiss Guards looked on nervously.

"Security detail in fibrillation, faithful delirious" is how the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano described the scene.

The papal bodyguards had better get used to it.

From the very start of his papacy, the first Latin American pontiff has exhibited a common touch and served notice that he will not tolerate life in a security bubble cut off from ordinary people.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said security measures cannot be imposed on the pope.

"If the pope says, 'I want to go greet these people', the pope goes ahead, and the security people go along," Lombardi said, adding that the bodyguards would have to "show flexibility".

"This is something brand new" compared with the behaviour of Francis's shy, reserved predecessor Benedict XVI, Lombardi said.

"You have to respect the pope's personal style," Lombardi said. "The security officials are aware that it is not they who are running the show but the pope, and they have to adjust to that."

Responsibility for papal security is shared by about 100 Swiss Guards -- the traditional papal security coterie -- plus about 100 Vatican police and another 140 Italian police who maintain a round-the-clock patrol at the edges of the tiny city state.

Regardless of their charge's personal style, security personnel must always seek a balance between access and protection.

Popes, at least in the modern age, have always been vulnerable at key moments when they minister to the faithful -- notably when a general audience or a mass is held in St Peter's Square or in the vast basilica.

Francis will set an enormous early test for his security detail on Tuesday when tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected to pack the famous square for his inaugural mass -- and he plans to weave his way among them for at least a quarter of an hour.

It was here that a right-wing Turkish extremist, Mehmet Ali Agca, shot John Paul II at close range in 1981, an assassination attempt that remains seared in the collective memory.