World leaders at Pope Francis’s funeral: who is there and where are they seated?
The Catholic Herald• April 26, 2025
Leaders from across the world have gathered in St Peter’s Square to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is representing the British Government, while Prince William is representing the United Kingdom.
Francis’s native Argentina is represented by President Javier Milei, who is seated in the front row according to Vatican protocol. President Milei had initially been hostile towards the Pontiff; however, following his election at the end of 2023, he sought to mend the fractured relationship. Milei visited Pope Francis at the Vatican during the canonisation of Argentina’s first female saint, María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, and enjoyed an hour-long conversation described as “very good and very friendly.” Upon the death of Francis, Milei declared a seven-day national mourning period in Argentina.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are present. Former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden are also attending. Trump has been accused of making the event political by saying his attendance is in part due to him winning the Catholic vote. When asked about his attendance, the president said: “You know, I won the Catholic vote, and I think it’s the first time that ever happened where a Republican won the vote, and I won it by a lot.” The claim is incorrect. The Catholic vote nearly always aligns with the winning candidate, and George W. Bush relied on it to win the 2004 election. Trump is seated in the third row.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are seated in the second row, as Vatican protocol grants precedence to Italy.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain are leading the Spanish delegation in paying their respects to the late Pontiff, while Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and First Lady Janja Lula da Silva are leading the Brazilian delegation.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, and Prince Albert II of Monaco are also present. Other heads of state and government, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Irish President Michael D. Higgins, are seated in subsequent rows. European Union leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Roberta Metsola, are also present.
The Vatican’s seating protocol for world leaders is guided by a combination of diplomatic tradition and symbolic significance. Priority seating is accorded to the Pope’s homeland and the host nation, followed by royalty and subsequently heads of state and government officials. Within each category, dignitaries are seated based on the French alphabetical order of their countries’ names.
((Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images))