Pope Francis’ funeral: Donald Trump, Zelenskyy among dignitaries converging on Rome

Heads of State and Royalty gather in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral, while the poor pay homage in humility.

Heads of State and Royalty will start converging on Rome on Friday (April 25, 2025) for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square, but the group of poor people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Pope Francis' humble persona and disdain for pomp.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei are among the leaders arriving Friday (April 25), the last day Argentine Pope will lie in state in St. Peter's Basilica before his coffin is sealed in the evening in preparation for his funeral on Saturday (April 26).

The Vatican said 130 delegations are confirmed, including 50 Heads of State and 10 reigning Sovereigns.

Tens of thousands of mourners have waited hours in line to bid farewell to Pope Francis, who died Monday (April 21) after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilica's opening hours overnight.

By Thursday (April 24) evening, more than 90,000 mourners had filed past Pope Francis' open coffin placed in front of the basilica's main altar — at times praying, at times holding smart phones aloft for a photo of the late pontiff laid out in red robes, a Bishop's pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands.

Emanuela Bisco took the day off work to pay her last respects to Pope Francis, as she had 20 years ago for St. John Paul II.

Pope Francis “was the pope of the forgotten, who was close to the simplest people, the homeless who were not pushed away,'' Ms. Bisco said. “I hope that the next pope will be at his level, and continue his struggles, his openness, everything that he did.”