Pope Francis’ Mexico Visit Expected to Attract Millions; 10,000 Police Officers to be Deployed

Pope Francis' Mexico visit in February is expected to draw a crowd of 2.3 million at the main event on the outskirts of the country's capital.

According to Fox News' report from the Associated Press, government officials in Mexico will deploy 10,000 state police officers to maintain the peace and ordinance at a 5.5.-mile (8.8 kilometer) motorcade and rally on Feb. 14.

On Wednesday, Mexico State Gov. Eruviel Avila announced that medical and aid facilities will be available for the event scheduled to take place in the city of Ecatepec, which is situated north of Mexico City, Fox News further reported. Bleachers will be set up alongside the main boulevard for the motorcade. Around 300,000 people are expected to attend the Mass.

The pontiff's Mexico trip will start on Feb. 12, the news outlet noted. He will also visit the states of Chiapas, Michoacan, and Chihuahua.

An estimated 100 million Catholics are said to be residing in Mexico, making up more than 80 percent of the nation's population, Fox News Latino wrote.

Just like his tour through Washington DC, New York, and Philadelphia in the United States last year, Pope Francis reportedly aims to meet freely with the public despite of the maximum security around him, The Guardian wrote. His U.S. visit drove one of the biggest security operations in the country, with the city police, the secret service, and the FBI deployed.

"The pope has called for no extraordinary measures," Alberto Suárez Inda, the archbishop of Morelia, said at a news conference on Tuesday, as quoted in The Guardian's report. "On the contrary," he added, the pontiff intends "to be near the people."

"He would not come if he did not have his confidence in God, in the goodness of the people," the archbishop noted, as reported by the news outlet. "We're all mortals, but as far as I know there has been no change in politics to necessitate more protection."

Pope Francis will visit Morelia on Feb. 16 and will meet with young people and visit the city's cathedral, The Guardian noted. He will give a speech at a stadium there afterwards. A day later, the pope will head to Ciudad Juárez, the border city that has experienced years of disappearances and violent murders.

The pontiff is expected to discuss migration while in Ciudad Juárez, as what he did in his chief speech in Philadelphia on the same topic, The Guardian added. Migration has become one of the most essential issues in the 2016 presidential election in the U.S.