I'm not sure you they brace for it so much as they embrace the inevitability. I just returned last week from a vacation in Rome. Judging from what I have read about preparations, I'm pleased John Paul II hung in there until we returned. It sounds quite disruptive.
I know, I'm scheduled to be in Rome in a few weeks. I've been wondering how our plans might be affected should we be there during death, or funeral, or conclave.
I have a friend who arrived in Rome yesterday for a long-planned art tour. I can only imagine what chaos her group must be facing.