Pope Francis died of illness on the 21st of this month at the age of 88. His funeral will be held at 4 a.m. Vatican time on Saturday (April 26) in Piazza San Pietro. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have arrived and will join leaders from around the world in seeing the Pope off. St. Peter's Square was closed early and security measures were strengthened. The atmosphere on site was solemn.
Before the funeral began, Francis completed the ceremony of covering and sealing the coffin. During the ceremony, the Pope's body was covered with a white cloth, and 26 commemorative coins representing his 26 years of pastoral ministry and important documents recording his life were placed in the coffin, and it was officially sealed.
According to Vatican statistics, more than 25 people came to St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to the Pope's remains in the past three days, far exceeding the number of people who paid their respects to the previous Pope Benedict XVI. However, many people raised their mobile phones to take selfies during the viewing process, prompting Vatican officials to step in to stop them several times.
Today's funeral is expected to attract 50 heads of state and delegations from 130 countries. The Italian government has mobilized thousands of police officers to strengthen security and ensure the smooth progress of the ceremony.
Who will attend the Pope's funeral? Who from Taiwan will attend?
Based on past experience, pope funerals are expected to attract large crowds, such as Benedict XVI's funeral, which attracted 5 people, and John Paul II's funeral in 2005, which attracted nearly 30 people. According to various reports, the current participating leaders include:
- U.S. President Donald Trump
- Prince William of the United Kingdom (representing King Charles III)
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Irish President Michael Higgins
- Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok
- Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker
- Slovenian President Natasa Pirc-Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob
- Felipe VI, King of Spain
- Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
- Argentine President Javier Milei
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
- Antonio Costa, President of the European Council
- Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and King Philippe
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China announced a few days ago that President Lai Ching-te appointed former Vice President Chen Chien-jen as a special envoy to participate. Chen Chien-jen has met with Pope Francis six times and was awarded the badge of academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by the Pope himself. He has a close relationship with the Pope.
After the funeral, Francis' coffin will travel through the streets of Rome, passing by Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum, and will eventually be buried in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, about 3.75 miles from St. Peter's Basilica.
