Donald Trump travels to Rome for Pope Francis' funeral

President Donald Trump left for Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, to be held on Saturday. He is not the only one: presidents and monarchs from all over the world have already headed to the city to attend the funeral of the first Latin American pope.
​
"We're going to Rome, where we'll be attending the funeral of Pope Francis... we're going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders. They want to meet. Trade deals are going very well. I think Russia and Ukraine are coming along, and Iran I think is going very well", Trump said. 

The Vatican reported that at least 150,000 people had visited Pope Francis' mortuary chapel in St. Peter's Basilica by 12 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) Friday to pay their respects to the Argentine pope.

The organization of Pope Francis' funeral entered its final stage on Friday, the last day of the funeral chapel, which has already received more than 128,000 visitors.

Presidents and monarchs from around the world will be present on Saturday at the funeral of the first Latin American pope.

According to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, the protocol establishes that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be located in the front row next to Argentine President Javier Milei, as the pope was born in Argentina. They will be followed by reigning Catholic monarchs, the grand master of the Order of Malta, non-Catholic monarchs and, later, heads of state organized alphabetically in French, the diplomatic language.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences to the Catholic Church on the death of Pope Francis in a post on X on Thursday night.

"The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and the Catholic community worldwide at the passing of Pope Francis. May he rest in peace," Netanyahu wrote in a message posted on his English-language X account.

More than 128,000 people attended the funeral chapel of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica as of 2 a.m. ET Friday, the Vatican said. The open casket of the first Latin American pope will remain on display until 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET).

The Vatican said Thursday that at least 130 delegations, including some "50 heads of state and 10 sitting monarchs" will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.

The Vatican announced earlier today that the faithful will be able to visit the tomb of Pope Francis starting this Sunday.

Meanwhile, by 11 a.m. local time on Thursday, at least 61,000 people had visited the Pope’s funeral chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica, according to the Holy See’s press office.

Thousands more continue to wait in long lines to pay their respects to the first Latin American pope. The mortuary chapel, which opened on Wednesday morning, will remain open until Friday night.

A total of 48,600 faithful paid their respects to the first Latin American pope, after waits of more than four hours. The official report of the Holy See also stated that there were 13,000 people between midnight and closing time alone, hours in which access was allowed even though it was not planned due to the enormous number of faithful waiting their turn.

The remains of Pope Francis are in St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of thousands of faithful will be able to bid him a final farewell beginning Wednesday.

Francis' wooden casket was carried in a 1,500-foot procession from the Santa Marta residence to St. Peter's. It was accompanied by cardinals and Swiss guards, to the sound of prayers and ringing bells.

The remains of Pope Francis have arrived at St. Peter's Basilica, where they will remain for three days in a chapel from Wednesday so that thousands of faithful can bid him a final farewell.

The open wooden casket was carried in procession from the chapel of Santa Marta, where he died on Monday at the age of 88, accompanied by cardinals and Swiss Guards.

According to Vatican News, the Argentine Jesuit rested Sunday afternoon in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, before dining quietly.

But on Monday, around 5:30 a.m. local time, the first symptoms of illness appeared. More than an hour later, after greeting his nurse, he slipped into a coma and died at 7:35 a.m. local time.

"According to those who were with him in his final moments, he did not suffer. It all happened quickly," Vatican News reported based on the testimony of those present.

"His was a discreet death, almost sudden, without long suffering or public alarm, for a Pope who was always very reserved about his health," added the official media report.

Unlike his immediate predecessors, Francis chose the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome to house his mortal remains for eternity in a "simple" tomb, where the only inscription is "Franciscus," his papal name in Latin.

A moment of silent prayer for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis opened the first General Congregation of the College of Cardinals on Tuesday morning, Vatican News reported.

The death of the pope started the countdown to choose his successor. The conclave to elect the new pope must be held within 15 to 20 days. More than two-thirds of the 135 cardinal electors were appointed by Francis.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that he will attend the funeral of Pope Francis. He joins President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in attending the funeral. According to the Italian press, half a million faithful are expected to attend, along with heads of state and monarchs from around the world.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to attend Pope Francis' funeral.

On Tuesday, China  expressed its "condolences" following the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88. It maintained that it hopes to maintain a good relationship with the Vatican. "In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained constructive contact and engaged in beneficial exchanges," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

The coffin of Pope Francis will be transferred on Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time to St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, where the faithful will be able to bid him their last farewell.

The funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time in the Vatican, before his burial that same day in the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The information was confirmed by the Holy See.

The funeral mass will be celebrated in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, located in front of the homonymous basilica and where the first Latin American pope made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday.

The Vatican released Tuesday the first images of the body of Pope Francis, before a first meeting of cardinals to decide the date of his funeral to which world leaders such as Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky plan to attend.

The photos, taken Monday, show the first Latin American pope inside his coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, dressed in a red chasuble and white miter, holding a rosary in his hands. Two Swiss guards are escorting him.