World leaders have begun arriving in Rome on Friday before Pope Francis’s weekend burial.
The Vatican released the full list of 130 foreign delegations that have confirmed their attendance at Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, including around 50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs.
Nigeria was, however, notably missing from the list. Invited guests include:
ARGENTINA: President Javier Milei.
BRAZIL: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife Janja.
HONDURAS: President Xiomara Castro.
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump and his wife Melania.
– Europe –
AUSTRIA: Chancellor Christian Stocker.
BELGIUM: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, with Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
BULGARIA: Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov.
CROATIA: President Zoran Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
EUROPEAN UNION: EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
FINLAND: President Alexander Stubb.
FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron.
GERMANY: President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz will not attend.
GREECE: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
HUNGARY: President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
IRELAND: President Michael Higgins and his wife Sabina, plus Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin.
KOSOVO: President Vjosa Osmani.
The ceremony will begin at 10am CET (08:00 GMT) on Saturday, April 26. It will be held at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Popes are usually buried beneath St Peter’s Basilica, but Santa Maria Maggiore church, a short walk from the city’s Termini central train station, is the pope’s choice as his final resting place.
Pope Francis, who died on Monday, April 21 from heart failure following a stroke at the age of 88, was widely popular for what many saw as his humility and compassion for marginalised people.
