St. Peter's Square April 26, two hours before Pope Francis' funeral. Credit: McKenna Snow
VATICAN CITY // Political leaders and national delegations from all over the world, including from the United States, France, and Ukraine, attended the funeral Mass for Pope Francis held in St. Peter’s Square April 26.
United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended, and were seated in the front row of a section directly to the right of the altar. Reuters reports that the leaders’ seating arrangements were determined largely by alphabetical order of the countries’ names as spelled in French.
Other leaders in attendance included President Javier Milei of Argentina; President Emmanuel Macron of France; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine; President Tamás Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary; Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy; President Andrzej Duda of Poland; and President Droupadi Murmu of India.
After the Our Father was prayed during the Mass, those present began offering one another the Sign of Peace. Trump was seen smiling and looking ahead, until the First Lady said something to him. Trump then began exchanging handshakes with those around him, including President Macron.
The convergence of many world leaders on April 26 also led to an exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy in St. Peter’s Basilica near a painting of Jesus’ Baptism in the River Jordan.
In a statement on X, Zelenskyy described his meeting with Trump positively and said he is hopeful that everything they spoke about, including a full and unconditional ceasefire and lasting peace, would be achieved.
“Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results,” he wrote.
While in Rome, Zelenskyy also met with Meloni, Macron, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Great Britain, and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The conversation between Cardinal Parolin and Zelenskyy was about “the path to a just and lasting peace, as well as the efforts of Ukraine, the United States, and Europe to establish a full and unconditional ceasefire,” according to an X post from the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy asserted that the Vatican’s support is crucial: “We rely on the Holy See to continue to assist us in uniting international efforts to achieve peace, to return Ukrainian children deported by Russia, and to release prisoners.”
He was among the many world leaders to issue condolences when the death of Pope Francis was first announced. Trump ordered that all flags at the White House and other US government properties be flown at half-staff on the day of the funeral. In another April 21 social media post, Trump wrote: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!”
In St. Peter’s Basilica before the funeral, Trump and Melania paid their respects to Pope Francis:
Other leaders in attendance of the funeral included DRC President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, Prince William of Great Britain, President Michael Higgins of Ireland, President William Ruto of Kenya, President Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania, former President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento of Honduras, and President Zoran Milanovič of Croatia.
The prime ministers of Palestine, Qatar, and the Czech Republic also attended, and Russia was represented at the funeral by Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova. The former Vice President of China, Chen Chien-jen, attended as a presidential envoy,
The Vatican also received ambassadors from Israel, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti, Myanmar, Rwanda, and Kuwait for the pope’s funeral. Heads of legislative bodies from Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Uganda, Paraguay, and Turkey also attended.
Many other leaders not named in this report were also in attendance.
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