But the Pontiff says he will not change his mission of "closeness to the people."

ISIS seems intent on carrying out more attacks against Christians, this time targeting the Pope and the Vatican. (Photo via United With Israel)

Commander Domenico Giani, head of the Vatican police force, said in an interview with Italian state publication Polizia Moderna on Monday that Islamic State (ISIS) threats against Pope Francis are "real" and not just media propaganda.

"This is what emerges from the talks I have had with Italian and foreign colleagues," he said, stressing, however, that he was unaware of any specific plot.

Threats against the Pope and the Vatican go beyond ISIS' apparatus operating out of Syria and Iraq. They extend to the "lone wolves," those in Western countries appearing to be ordinary citizens, who are more dangerous because they are unpredictable," the security chief explained.

Giani has commanded the Vatican security force for the past nine years, but ISIS' advent as well as recent developments in the Middle East have made threats against the Pope and Rome more acute.

The Pope is fully aware of the danger, Giani says, but "is not compromising the style of his pontificate, based on closeness to the people, that is, on personal contact with the greatest number of people possible."

The Vatican Police and Interpol exchange intelligence with each other as well as with other investigative services, receiving valuable information even from Muslim states, Giani revealed.

According to Giani, 20 of the 138 Vatican police have received "special training" that enables them to carry out "anti-terrorist actions." Some, he said, "accompany the Pope during his international travels."

Giani also shared that the Vatican makes use of the latest security technology and has an operational center "of high technological level," which collects data from "thousands of surveillance cameras" installed in Vatican City as well as in extraterritorial Vatican properties.

ISIS has openly threatened the Pope, the Vatican and Christians on several occasions.

In the fourth edition of the terror organization's Dabiq magazine, it clearly states: "We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women, by the permission of Allah, the Exalted. This is his promise to us; he is glorified and he does not fail in his promise. If we do not reach that time, then our children and grandchildren will reach it, and they will sell your sons as slaves at the slave market."

In February, ISIS terrorists in Libya beheaded 21 Christian Copt Egyptians. The victims were named as "the people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian Church."

ISIS' latest assault against Christians occurred in Syria, when the terrorists abducted more than 300 Asyrian Christians from their village during fighting in the area. A few of the captives have since been released. One source said 19 Christians were set free by ISIS.

The fate of the rest is unknown, but there is great fear that they may all be executed.

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