US president Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump touched down in Rome last night as the world prepares mark Pope Francis‘ funeral.
Trump is one of dozens of world leaders who jetted to Italy ahead of the historic funeral of the pontiff, who died at the age of 88 on Monday.
Today, the world’s elite will be attending the formal funeral of the trailblazing religious figure, after three days where the world was given the chance to pay their respects to the late Catholic leader.
Yesterday evening, droves of faithfuls lined the streets of the Vatican City as they waited to pay tribute to Pope Francis.
The President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has predicted the funeral will be a ‘masterpiece’ in stage-managing ‘big egos’.
A Vatican spokesperson has confirmed Francis’s birth country of Argentina, then Italy, will take precedence.
Thereafter, reigning sovereigns will be seated ‘in alphabetical order, but in French language’, followed by heads of state.
Trump is expected to have a ‘third-tier seat’ at Pope Francis‘ funeral mass despite being among the first to confirm that he would be attending the service.
US president Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (both pictured) have arrived in Rome ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral
Trump is one of dozens of world leaders jetting into Italy to attend the historic funeral of the pontiff
Following three days where the world was given the chance to pay their respects to the deceased Catholic leader, the world’s elite will today be attending the formal funeral of the trailblazing religious figure
Countless people queue to pay their respets to Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, at the age of 88
Priests heading towards St Peter’s Basilica pay their respect to Pope Francis
Trump, who is accustomed to being front and centre at world events, is unlikely to have a prominent position in the seating arrangements.
Trump, however, is not likely to be pleased with the seating arrangements, given that he mocked his predecessor Joe Biden for having to sit in the rear at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral three years ago.
He said that Biden’s 14th row seat showed there was ‘no respect’ for the US anymore and alleged that if he was president he would have been moved closer to the front of the audience of 2,000 mourners.
Trump did not attend the service bidding farewell to Britain’s longest reigning monarch – as invites were limited to current heads of state at the time.
There were doubts however that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky would make the Pope’s funeral today, saying if he ‘had time, he would attend’ amid urgent meetings with military chiefs.
According to a guest list released by the Vatican, the Prince of Wales was due to sit next to Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway and his wife Princess Mette-Marit, as crown princes had their own separate category.
The heir to the throne was due to fly out to Vatican City first thing this morning on the King’s Flight. It is being seen as a significant milestone in the prince’s growing role as a global statesman and future monarch.
He is expected to fly back to the UK afterwards, giving him ample time later to watch his beloved Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final on television.
President Trump – who was seen with his arm around Melania’s waist as they boarded a helicopter en route to Air Force One – will be sandwiched between delegations from Estonia and Finland, with Sir Keir sat between Qatar and Serbia.
As such Ireland’s delegation, which includes President Michael D Higgins, his wife Sabina Higgins, as well as Taoiseach Micheal Martin, and Tanaiste Simon Harris will come ahead of William and the British Government.
Droves of faithful supporters lined up as they prepare to pay tribute to the late Pope
Countless more faithfuls can be seen lining the streets of the Vatican City yesterday ahead of the religious figure’s funeral
Yesterday was the final day of farewell ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral (Pictured: Faithfuls queuing along the streets of the Vatican City)
Trump is expected to have a ‘third-tier seat’ at Pope Francis ‘ funeral mass
The Trumps are one of countless powerful couples who will be attending the funeral of the Pope today
Air Force One sits on the tarmac at Fiumicino Airport following the arrival of U.S President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, near Rome, Italy, April 25, 2025
Ireland’s Vatican ambassador Frances Collins is also set to attend the Pope’s funeral as a part of the Irish delegation.
Cardinal Nichols, who will take part in his first conclave to elect a new pope in the coming weeks, said the funeral organisers are well used to dealing with the sensitivities of such big events.
In an interview with the PA news agency in Rome, he said the funeral will be ‘without a doubt another masterpiece of stage management when you consider those state leaders who have high opinions of their importance’.
He added: ‘In the past, I’ve seen it here over and over again that the combination of Rome and the Holy See, they actually are geniuses at dealing with these big events.
‘I think they’ve been doing it since the emperors ruled Rome – that they know how to deal with big egos.
‘And I think every leader of a nation that comes here on Saturday will go home reasonably content.’
The requiem mass will begin at 10am and comes after three days of Pope Francis lying in state in an open wooden casket inside St Peter’s with 250,000 people filing past.
Officials shut the Basilica at 7pm last night – with French president Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte among the last in – so the casket could be sealed in a ceremony led by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the ‘camerlengo’, a cleric who runs the Vatican after a pope’s death or resignation.
U.S President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One at Fiumicino Airport, to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, near Rome, Italy, April 25, 2025
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Rome
U.S President Donald Trump sits inside a vehicle upon arrival at Fiumicino Airport, to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, near Rome, Italy, April 25, 2025
The Vatican has published an 87-page order of service for the funeral, which will be in a mixture of Latin, Italian and English, enabling the huge crowd packed into the Vatican and surrounding streets to follow the event.
In a break with tradition, Pope Francis asked in his will to be buried not in the traditional cemetery of the Popes under St Peter’s, but at Santa Maria Maggiore church, four miles away.
Once the service is over, the cortege will make its way across the River Tiber from the Vatican and head to Santa Maria Maggiore, passing iconic Rome locations such as Piazza Venezia, the Forum and the Colosseum.
Officials expect huge crowds to line the streets and giant TV screens have been installed across the city to allow as many people as possible to follow the event which will be beamed worldwide to an audience of billions.
Behind the coffin will be cars carrying relatives of Pope Francis, among them his cousin Mauro Bergoglio, who had told an Argentine station he couldn’t afford the airfare but a travel firm stepped in to help.
Personal assistants including his faithful nurse Massimiliano Strappetti, will be in the cortege and behind them will be the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, who will lead the funeral and burial. The journey is expected to take around 30 minutes and once at Santa Maria Maggiore, a group of around 40, including transgender people, the homeless, migrants and prisoners, will greet the coffin at the steps, each holding a white rose. Pope Francis was well known for his campaigning for social justice and would often speak out for marginal communities, so they have been specifically invited to take part in the funeral.
Once the coffin reaches Santa Maria Maggiore, it will be solemnly carried inside and buried in a nave to the left-hand side, between two chapels ‘in the earth’ as he requested.
A marble slab bearing his name in Latin, Franciscus, and a cross will then be placed on top. Live TV coverage will stop at the point the coffin enters the church, but officials said they will release images of the burial later.
Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Pope Francis’s funeral would cost around 1.5 million Euros, while that of Pope John Paul II in 2005 cost five million Euros.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk to their limousine upon arrival at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome on April 25, 2025
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive on Air Force One at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International airport in Fiumicino
Security is on high alert for the event, with extra police and army units carrying drone busters and sharp shooters on rooftops overlooking the Vatican.
Following the funeral, pilgrims will be allowed to visit Pope Francis’s tomb from Sunday, and there then follows nine days of official mourning before the start of the conclave, the process to elect his successor.
Scaffolding has been erected to provide international media with the best vantage points overlooking St Peter’s Square while there is a strong Italian police presence managing numbers and security.
Following Saturday’s open-air funeral in the square, Francis’s remains will be taken through the streets of Rome in another break with tradition, as his body is brought to a simple underground tomb in the basilica of Saint Mary Major, as per his instructions.
The Vatican said a group of ‘poor and needy’ people will be present on the steps leading to the basilica to pay their last respects before the interment of the coffin, in a nod to Francis’s particular care for the downtrodden.
