Pope Francis Funeral: Donald Trump to Prince William, these world leaders will attend ceremony, check date and other details

Pope Francis’ funeral will be held on Saturday (April 26, 2025) and will be attended by top world leaders. The Catholic leader died on Easter Monday (April 21) after a stroke at the age of 88. The head of the Roman Catholic Church was recently discharged from Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he spent five weeks receiving treatment for an infection that led to double pneumonia. 

Pope Francis Funeral Date and place 

Pope Francis’ Funeral will see a massive gathering of world leaders in the Vatican. Pope Francis Funeral India time is 1.30 pm IST while according to the international time it will be held at 10:00 am. Pope Francis’ funeral date and time were decided by cardinals meeting in a so-called “general congregation.” It is the first of many meetings that will take place to conclude in a conclave within three weeks, when the new pope will be elected. 

The body of the late Pope Francis will be transferred to St. Peter's Basilica on April 23 to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday morning, the Vatican announced on Tuesday. The Holy See Press Office announced today that Pope Francis' funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, April 26 at 10:00 AM in St. Peter's Square, the open ground in front of St Peter's Basilica. 

On Wednesday, the coffin containing the Pope's body will be carried from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter's Basilica for the faithful to pay their respects, the VAtican said. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of translation on April 23, which will begin at 9:00 AM with a moment of prayer.   

According to his wishes Pope Francis will be laid to rest in Rome's Basilica of St Mary and will become the first Pope in more than a century not to be buried in the Vatican, in the crypt of St Peter's Basilica.He also requested to be buried in a simple wooden casket, unlike other Popes who were buried in the traditional three nesting coffins made of cypress, lead and oak. 

Pope Francis funeral guests 

World leaders are likely to attend the funeral. U.S. President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that he and First Lady Melania Trump will attend the Pope's funeral at the Vatican. Other world leaders include, President Javier Milei of Argentina, where the pope was born in 1936, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will attend with his wife Janja, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Prince William.  

According to the medical report, the Pope had a prior history of acute respiratory failure caused by multimicrobial bilateral pneumonia, multiple bronchiectases, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes.

(With inputs from ANI)