Trump To Attend Funeral Of Pope Francis Later This Week: Report

Last Updated:April 21, 2025, 23:40 IST

In 2005, then-President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the most recent pope to pass away while in office.

US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis met at the Vatican, May 24, 2017.(Reuters File)

President Trump is expected to attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City later this week, New York Post said citing sources familiar with the plans.

The funeral and burial of Francis, who passed away at 88, are expected to take place within four to six days after his death, with the exact schedule still being finalised.

At the White House Easter Egg Roll, Trump did not confirm whether he would attend the funeral. “I don’t know yet. We’re going to be briefed on it right now … I just have to look at the timing," he told the reporters.

When asked how he would remember Francis, whom Trump met during his first term in 2017, the US President said, “He was a very good man who loved the world, and he especially loved people that were having a hard time, and that’s good with me."

Trump also said he had ordered flags to half-staff across the country to honour Francis, though that direction had not yet been made public as of 1 p.m. Monday.

The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals. Eligible cardinals eventually vote for a papal successor in the Sistine Chapel.

In 2005, then-President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the most recent pope to pass away while in office.

Then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush accompanied the Bushes.

United States of America (USA)

News world Trump To Attend Funeral Of Pope Francis Later This Week: Report