Rome's population has more than doubled

"The city center cannot take the arrival of any more faithful," said Guido Bertolaso, head of crowd control for the funeral. "Anyone arriving tonight or tomorrow will have no possibility of following the funeral at St. Peter's."

New arrivals, coming in on planes, trains and buses from around the world, were urged to make their way to a special reception area in the suburbs of Rome.

The city normally has a population of 3 million but around 4 million visitors have flowed in since John Paul's death on Saturday, according to Rome police chief Achille Serra.

"The number of people is staggering and is growing constantly," he told Reuters. "This is unprecedented."

From this AP story.