New Delhi: Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday morning at the age of 88, will be laid to rest on April 26,2025 (Saturday) in Rome. His funeral is expected to draw dignitaries from across the world, as well as many religious leaders. This is what is expected to happen on the day.
When and where is Pope Francis’s funeral?
The funeral will be held in St Peter’s Square in Rome at 10am local time. The outdoor service, will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals. The funeral is expected to be attended by dignitaries from 170 foreign delegations, as well as many ordinary people wanting to pay their respects.
Before Francis’s funeral ceremony, tens of thousands lined up to pay their respects to the pope, as his body lay in state in an open wooden coffin at St Peter’s Basilica. Within the first 24 hours, more than 50,000 people had filed past the coffin.
Which foreign leaders and royals are expected to attend?
Donald Trump – US president whose policies on immigration and mass deportations were criticised by the late pope – will be in Rome for the funeral, accompanied by his wife, Melania.
Others dignitaries include
President of India- Droupadi Murmu
UN Secretary General- António Guterres
President of France- Emmanuel Macron
President of Ukraine- Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President and prime minister of Italy- Sergio Mattarella and Giorgia Meloni
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain
President and Taoiseach of Ireland-Michael D Higgins and Micheál Martin
Representing the UK will be Keir Starmer, the prime minister, and Prince William.
Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, will also be present, as will Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and its prime minister, Luís Montenegro.
Among those attending from Latin America are the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Javier Milei – the president of Francis’s native Argentina who had previously referred to the late pontiff as a “communist”, an “imbecile” and a “lefty son of a bitch”.
The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will not attend but will be represented by the country’s interior minister, Rosa Icela Rodríguez.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the president of the Philippines – which has one of the world’s largest Catholic populations will also be in attendance.
Russia will be represented by its culture minister, Olga Lyubimova. The country’s president, Vladimir Putin, has not travelled to a western country since ordering the invasion of Ukraine three years ago and is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
Among the opposition party leaders attending are Alberto Núñez Feijóo of Spain’s conservative People’s party, and Jordan Bardella, the president of France’s far-right National Rally party. Despite his party’s anti-immigration stance, Bardella recently praised the late pope’s “constant attention to the forgotten and the dignity of the most vulnerable”.
What security arrangements have been made?
Barriers have already been installed inside and outside the St Peter’s Basilica to control the crowd. Security checks have also been increased.
State-of-the-art defence and security mechanisms have been deployed across Rome and in the skies above the capital. Other security measures include anti-drone weaponry, a no-fly zone patrolled by fighter jets, and sophisticated jamming technologies. Anti-terrorism and anti-sabotage units are also already on the ground.
The basilica and the surrounding areas are being patrolled by more than 2,000 police officers. They will be supported by 400 traffic police officers who will help manage the movement of the diplomatic convoys.
Where will Pope Francis be buried?
Francis’s choice of burial place marks the break with tradition. Most popes have decided to be laid to rest in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s. But Francis opted for the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, which lies outside the Vatican.
