Numerous heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance at the funeral ceremony, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Over 200 people are expected to attend Pope Francis' funeral this Saturday.
Numerous heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance at the funeral ceremony, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Javier Millei, the president of Argentina (Pope Francis' home country), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have also announced their attendance at the funeral.
The funeral ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The service will be led by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, and will be attended by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from around the world.
Cardinal Battista Re will say the closing prayer, and the pope's body will then be moved to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome where the funeral will take place.
Francis will become the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than 100 years. In his last will and testament, he expressed his wish to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome because, as the document states, he has entrusted his life and priestly ministry to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The pope requests that his tomb be in the ground, simple, without special decoration and with the inscription – Franciscus.
Over 200 people are expected to attend Pope Francis' funeral this Saturday.
Numerous heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance at the funeral ceremony, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Javier Millei, the president of Argentina (Pope Francis' home country), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have also announced their attendance at the funeral.
The funeral ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The service will be led by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, and will be attended by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from around the world.
Cardinal Battista Re will say the closing prayer, and the pope's body will then be moved to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome where the funeral will take place.
Francis will become the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than 100 years. In his last will and testament, he expressed his wish to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome because, as the document states, he has entrusted his life and priestly ministry to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The pope requests that his tomb be in the ground, simple, without special decoration and with the inscription – Franciscus.
