Pope Francis will be laid to rest on Saturday following a funeral mass at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City. The funeral is being attended by top international dignitaries, including heads of governments, heads of states, monarchs, and more. US President Donald Trump was among more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries attending the funeral of Pope Francis, where he will personally pay his respects to the Roman Catholic leader who pointedly disagreed with him on a variety of issues. Trump arrived at the Vatican with his wife, First Lady Melania Trump.
Trump told reporters on Friday, as he flew to Rome, that he was going to the funeral “out of respect” for the pontiff, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also arrived to attend Pope Francis's funeral. Other notable attendees include EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Argentine President Javier Milei.
According to the Vatican, Pope's coffin will be placed on the back of a popemobile used during his 2015 trip to the Philippines.
The vehicle has been modified so the coffin will be visible to mourners along the nearly 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) route from St Peter’s Basilica to his burial place.
President Droupadi Murmu on Friday also paid homage to Pope Francis at the Basilica of St Peter here. “President Droupadi Murmu paid homage to His Holiness Pope Francis at Basilica of St Peter in Vatican City,” her office said in a post on X.
President Murmu is accompanied by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying George Kurian, and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Joshua De Souza.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also paid tribute to Pope, saying, "Rashtrapati Ji pays homage to His Holiness, Pope Francis on behalf of the people of India. The world will always remember his service to society."
Tens of thousands of mourners have waited hours in line to bid farewell to Francis, who died on Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. Francis was the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years.
(With inputs from AP)