Pope Francis funeral in Rome: Date, time, full list of guests

Pope Francis, who died earlier this week on Monday aged 88, will be laid to rest on Saturday morning. The pope’s funeral will be held in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican is expected to be attended by dignitaries from all over the world, including President Droupadi Murmu and US President Donald Trump.

Pope Francis will be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in central Rome after all the ceremonies of his funeral are over.

Public access to viewing Pope Francis one last time was closed on Friday after three days. His coffin was then sealed in a private ceremony called the Rite of the Sealing of the Coffin at St. Peter's Basilica.

Also read: Pope Francis' funeral seating chart revealed: Trump, Biden could share awkward moment in Rome

Pope Francis funeral time

The funeral of Pope Francis will start at 10am local time (around 1:30pm Indian time) on Saturday morning. His coffin will be taken out of St Peter’s Basilica to the public square, and the funeral mass will begin, presided over by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, which will be officially joined by 220 cardinals, and 750 bishops and priests near the altar, and more than 4,000 other priests con-celebrating in the square.

According to Reuters, a choir singing introductory rites in Latin will begin the funeral mass, followed by a series of rituals and prayers performed by Cardinal Re. Before the end of the mass, Pope Francis’ coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense, and the funeral will be concluded with a ritual called ‘Final Commendation and Farewell’, in which the Pope’s soul will be commended to God.

The funeral mass is expected to be over by 11.45am local time (around 3:15pm IST) and Pope Francis’ coffin will be taken to Santa Maria Maggiore through a procession which is expected to be joined by the crowd.

Pope Francis will be buried privately, and his tomb will be open to the public from Sunday morning, according to the Vatican. The Pope’s funeral will also be the first day of the nine days of mourning and masses by the Church in a tradition called the Novemdiales.

Who is attending the Pope’s funeral?

According to the Vatican, Pope Francis’ funeral is expected to be attended by over 150 delegations, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns, reported PA media.

Here is a list of dignitaries from around the world who will attend the funeral -

Asia-Pacific

India: President Droupadi Murmu

Australia: Governor-General Sam Mostyn

Bangladesh: Interim leader Muhammad Yunus

East Timor: President Jose Ramos Horta

Indonesia: former president Joko Widodo

New Zealand: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon

Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos

Americas

Argentina: President Javier Milei

Belize: Governor-General Froyla Tzalam

Brazil: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Canada: Governor General Mary Simon

Dominican Republic: President Luis Abinader

Ecuador: President Daniel Noboa Azin

Honduras: President Xiomara Castro

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

United States: President Donald Trump, Former president Joe Biden

Europe

Albania: President Bajram Begaj

Andorra: Co-Prince Joan-Enric Vives Sicilia

Armenia: President Vahagn Khachaturyan

Austria: President Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor Christian Stocker

Belgium: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, with Prime Minister Bart De Wever

Bosnia-Herzegovina: President Zelika Cvijanovic

Bulgaria: Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov

Croatia: President Zoran Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic

Cyprus: President Nikos Christodoulides

Czech Republic: Prime Minister Petr Fiala

Denmark: Queen Mary

Estonia: President Alar Karis

European Union: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Antonio Costa

Finland: President Alexander Stubb

France: President Emmanuel Macron

Georgia: President Mikheil Kavelashvili

Germany: President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Greece: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Hungary: President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Iceland: President Halla Tomasdottir

Ireland: President Michael Higgins and Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin

Italy: President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Kosovo: President Vjosa Osmani

Latvia: President Edgars Rinkevics

Liechtenstein: Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie

Lithuania: President Gitanas Nauseda

Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Prime Minister Luc Frieden

Malta: President Myriam Spiteri Debono

Moldova: President Maia Sandu

Monaco: Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene

Montenegro: President Jakov Milatovic

Netherlands: Prime Minister Dick Schoof

North Macedonia: President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova

Norway: Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide

Poland: President Andrzej Duda

Portugal: President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro

Romania: Interim president Ilie Bolojan

Russia: Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova

Serbia: Prime Minister Djuro Macut

Slovakia: President Peter Pellegrini

Slovenia: President Natasa Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob

Spain: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia

Sweden: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson

Switzerland: President Karin Keller-Sutter

Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky

United Kingdom: Prince William representing King Charles III, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Middle East

Iran: Culture Minister Abbas Salehi, representing President Masoud Pezeshkian

Israel: Yaron Sideman, Ambassador to the Holy See

Jordan: King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

Lebanon: President Joseph Aoun

Palestinian Authority: Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa

Qatar: Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani

United Arab Emirates: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Africa

Angola: President Joao Lourenco

Burundi: Vice President Prosper Bazombanza

Cape Verde: President Jose Maria Neves

Central African Republic: President Faustin-Archange Touadera

DR Congo: President Felix Tshisekedi

Gabon: President Brice Oligui Nguema

Kenya: President William Ruto

Lesotho: King Letsie III

Madagascar: President Andry Rajoelina

Morocco: Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch

Mozambique: President Daniel Chapo

Seychelles: President Wavel Ramkalawan

Sierra Leone: President Julius Maada Bio

Southern Africa: Cardinal Stephen Brislin, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference

Togo: President Faure Gnassingbe

With agency inputs