Pope Francis, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke.
As requested by the late Pope Francisthe the coffin bearing his body will be taken into St Peter’s Basilica, and then to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial after a liturgy
The US president Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he was planning to travel to Vatican for the funeral of Pope Francis, expected later this week.
Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!”
French president Emmanuel Macron also confirmed he would attend the funeral, while speaking to AFP reporters in Saint-Denis de la Reunion.
We will attend the pope’s funeral as we should,” he said AFP reported.
In the same order, presidency source told AFP that the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend the funeral.
In the meantime, the diplomatic list is expected to grow rapidly in the coming days, with most countries sending their heads of state or government to pay tribute to Francis – creating potential space for high-level meetings on the margins of the funeral.
