Some of the world’s most deadly places are the areas between a camera and Sheila Jackson Lee, Chuck Schumer, and Peter King.

Via Roll Call:

Too many members cannot be trusted to behave themselves when Pope Francis comes to the Capitol, the congressional leadership has decided. And so, to enforce decorous discipline, some extraordinary measures are being readied.

Each party is assembling teams of lawmakers to essentially act as blocking tackles, willing to restrain any of their colleagues intent on trying to reach out for a papal touch as he walks onto the floor of the House.

And after the historic speech, the doors to the cloakrooms and the hallways will be blocked — and in some cases, locked — to prevent lawmakers from leaving the chamber for perhaps half an hour, until Francis has appeared on a West Front balcony to greet the ticketed throng and then departed the Hill by motorcade.

Those over-the-top precautions are a reflection of the unique protocol, security and political concerns attendant to the first papal address to a joint meeting of Congress. It has come to resemble a state visit, State of the Union address and presidential inaugural rolled into one.

Down-to-the-minute preparations for the papal visit, which is supposed to begin at 9:15 a.m. Thursday and be done 105 minutes later, have created space for some unusual bonding among the bipartisan congressional leadership and their most trustworthy aides.

All of them are on the same page about bending over backward to accommodate the Vatican’s expectations, which can summarized as “Look, but don’t touch,” lest Congress drive its record-low public approval even lower by coming across as collectively preening and boorish before a global television audience.

The first manifestation of that was last week’s “courtesy notice” delivered to all senators and House members, over the signatures of the top four leaders, offering this behavioral guidance: “Out of respect for the pope’s schedule and the expectation of a timely address, we respectfully request that you assist us by refraining from handshakes and conversations along and down the center aisle.”

But the bosses are assuming their ask is going to be ignored — by the most fervently faithful Catholic lawmakers, who won’t be able to risk trying to kiss the papal ring or touch the hem of his cassock, as well as by many of the most publicity-driven members, desperate to make it into the same TV frame as Francis and get photographed glad-handing or even hugging him.

This is where the sort-of reverse congressional escort committee comes in. Posting the Capitol Police or Swiss Guards in the aisles would look awful, so leadership is looking for about 50 members known for their patience and institutional good manners. On the promise they’ll keep their hands to themselves, they’ll be assigned to wear dark colors (with hems below the knee for women) as papal protocol dictates, show up when the doors open and fill the three chairs on either side of the aisle in each of the chamber’s eight rows of fixed seating.

The aim is to create a physical zone of restraint between the pope and those who might invade his personal space. In other words, Democrats are telling the likes of Reps. Eliot L. Engel of New York and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, and Republicans are telegraphing to folks such as Reps. Billy Long of Missouri and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, that their well-honed spot-saving tactics for presidential appearances won’t work for this event.