New Delhi: United States President Donald Trump has ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff in a a way to pay respect for the memory of Pope Francis after his death on Monday in Rome at the age of 88.
“He was a good man. Worked hard. He loved the world,” Trump said ahead of before the annual White House Easter Egg Roll event.
According to the Vatican, the Pope passed away because of a cerebral stroke leading to a coma and irreversible heart failure. He had a prolonged battle with respiratory illness.
Francis was elected as the 266th pope in 2013, which made him the first non-European pope (or first Latin American to get the honour) in 1000 years. He chose the title Pope Francis in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, who was a friar who renounced his wealth to become ‘a man of peace, a man of poverty, a man who loved and protected creation’, as per National Catholic Reporter.
Other than the United States, United Kingdom and Australia are the other countries which have announced to fly flags at half-staff in honour of Pope Francis.
Donald Trump’s proclamation
“As a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.”
