Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, among them world leaders, Catholic officials and mourners from around the globe.
Many heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance, including Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Political figures will be out in full force at the ceremony, the most prominent gathering of world leaders since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Pope Francis’s vocal opinions on global issues occasionally put him at odds with leaders – some of whom will be at the funeral.
Following is a list of the main world leaders who have so far said they will attend Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday in Saint Peter’s Square.
ARGENTINA – President Javier Milei.
BANGLADESH – Chief Adviser (interim leader) Muhammad Yunus.
BELGIUM – King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
BRITAIN – Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
BRAZIL – President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and first lady Janja Lula da Silva.
CROATIA – President Zoran Milanovic.
CYPRUS – President Nikos Christodoulides.
CZECH REPUBLIC – Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
ESTONIA – President Alar Karis.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – President Luis Abinader.
EUROPEAN UNION – Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
EAST TIMOR – President Jose Ramos-Horta.
ECUADOR – President Daniel Noboa.
FINLAND – President Alexander Stubb.
FRANCE – President Emmanuel Macron.
GERMANY – President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
GREECE – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
HONDURAS – President Xiomara Castro.
HUNGARY – President Tamas Sulyok.
ITALY – President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
IRELAND – Prime Minister Micheal Martin.
LATVIA – President Edgars Rinkevics.
LITHUANIA – President Gitanas Nauseda.
MOLDOVA – President Maia Sandu.
NETHERLANDS – Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
NEW ZEALAND – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
NORWAY – Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
PHILIPPINES – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
POLAND – President Andrzej Duda.
PORTUGAL – President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.
ROMANIA – Interim President Ilie Bolojan.
SPAIN – King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
SWEDEN – King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
SWITZERLAND – President Karin Keller-Sutter.
UKRAINE – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
UNITED STATES – President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
Also read: Who will be the next pope? Key candidates in an unpredictable process
Source: Reuters / BBC
