List of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope Francis

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The funeral of Pope Francis on 26 April 2025 was attended by representatives from 142 out of 193 UN member states, along with the Republic of China,[a] Kosovo,[b] Palestine and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, including 63 heads of state and 26 heads of government. Following Francis's death five days prior, many foreign leaders confirmed their forthcoming attendance at his Requiem Mass, some as early as on the day of his death.[1] Several cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, which elected Francis's successor Leo XIV, also attended the mass, as did representatives of Catholic dioceses, representatives of other Christian denominations, and leaders from other religions.

Map showing countries from which a national delegation was present at the funeral of Pope Francis

National representatives

Heads of state

Heads of state present
Other authorities present
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Representatives of heads of state

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Heads of government

More information Delegation state, Person (accompanied by) ...
Delegation state Person (accompanied by) Head of government position Ref.
AndorraXavier Espot ZamoraPrime Minister of Andorra[4]
AustriaChristian StockerChancellor of Austria[10]
BangladeshMuhammad YunusChief Adviser of Bangladesh[104]
BelgiumBart De WeverPrime Minister of Belgium[11]
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBorjana KrištoChair of Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina[105]
BulgariaRosen ZhelyazkovPrime Minister of Bulgaria[106]
CroatiaAndrej Plenković (with Ana Maslać Plenković)Prime Minister of Croatia[17]
Czech RepublicPetr Fiala (with Jana Fialová)Prime Minister of the Czech Republic[107]
GermanyOlaf ScholzChancellor of Germany[44]
GreeceKyriakos Mitsotakis (with Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis)Prime Minister of Greece[108]
HungaryViktor Orbán (with Anikó Lévai)Prime Minister of Hungary[109][110]
IrelandMicheál MartinTaoiseach of Ireland[30]
ItalyGiorgia MeloniPrime Minister of Italy[5]
KosovoAlbin Kurti (with Rita Augestad Knudsen)Prime Minister of Kosovo[111]
LuxembourgLuc Frieden (with Marjolijne Droogleever Fortuyn)Prime Minister of Luxembourg[36][40]
MaltaRobert Abela (with Lydia Abela)Prime Minister of Malta[39]
NetherlandsDick SchoofPrime Minister of the Netherlands[112]
New ZealandChristopher LuxonPrime Minister of New Zealand[113]
PalestineMohammad MustafaPrime Minister of Palestine[114]
PortugalLuís MontenegroPrime Minister of Portugal[46]
QatarMohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al ThaniPrime Minister of Qatar[2]
RomaniaMarcel CiolacuPrime Minister of Romania[2]
SerbiaĐuro MacutPrime Minister of Serbia[115]
SloveniaRobert Golob (with Tina Gaber)Prime Minister of Slovenia[40]
SwedenUlf KristerssonPrime Minister of Sweden[51]
United KingdomKeir Starmer (with Victoria Starmer)Prime Minister of the United Kingdom[5]
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Ambassadors

Unless otherwise stated, all listed ambassadors are accredited to the Holy See.

  Ambassador headed their country's delegation
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Other officials

Argentina

Australia

Brazil

Bulgaria

Canada

Chile

Czech Republic

France

Georgia

Germany

Honduras

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Italy

Malaysia

Mali

  • Moussa Ag Attaher [Wikidata], Minister for Malians Living Abroad and African Integration of Mali[40]
  • Daniel Siméon Kelema, Minister of Agriculture of Mali[40]

Poland

Portugal

Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Spain

United Kingdom

United States

Other countries

  Official headed their country's delegation
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International organizations

Council of Europe

  • Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe[2]
  • Theodoros Roussopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe[2]

European Union

International Fund for Agricultural Development

World Council of Churches

Other organizations

Descendants of deposed royal families

Religious representatives

Catholic Church

Archbishops

Bishops

Other

Eastern Catholic churches

Patriarchs
Major Archbishops
Metropolitan Archbishops
Bishops

Anglican communion

Archbishops

Bishops

Other

Eastern Orthodox churches

Lutheran churches

Methodist churches

  • Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Methodist Co-Chair of the Joint Dialogue Between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church and Chair of the Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations Committee of the World Methodist Council[226]
  • Casely Essamoah, ordained minister of the Methodist Church Ghana and Secretary of the Global Christian Forum[226]
  • Sarah Mae Gabuyo, Pastor of Ponte Sant'Angelo Methodist Church in Rome[226]
  • Matthew A. Laferty, Representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See and Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome[226]
  • Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council[226]
  • Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, President of the World Methodist Council[226]

Oriental Orthodox churches

Other Christian denominations

Other religions

Absences

Heads of state and government

The following heads of state and government were noted in media coverage for not attending the Requiem Mass:

More information Country, Person ...
Country Person Position Reason for absence Ref.
AustraliaAnthony Albanese[d]Prime Minister of AustraliaOngoing election campaign[236]
CanadaMark Carney[d]Prime Minister of CanadaOngoing election campaign[60]
ChinaXi JinpingGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of ChinaNo formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See[237]
Republic of the CongoDenis Sassou NguessoPresident of the Republic of the CongoAttended a Requiem Mass at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-du-Congo in Brazzaville in Francis' honour[238]
GermanyFriedrich Merz[d]Chancellor–designate of Germany and Leader of the Opposition in the BundestagUndisclosed[130][239]
IsraelBenjamin NetanyahuPrime Minister of IsraelForeign travel limited by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and who oversaw the deterioration of Holy See–Israel relations during the Gaza war[240][120]
MalawiLazarus ChakweraPresident of MalawiAttended a Requiem Mass at Maula Cathedral in Lilongwe in Francis' honour[241]
MexicoClaudia SheinbaumPresident of MexicoCited risk of criticism of a potential visit to the Vatican due to the separation of church and state[242]
NetherlandsWillem-AlexanderKing of the NetherlandsCelebrations of Koningsdag[16][112]
ParaguaySantiago Peña[d]President of ParaguayVisited the United States on the day of the funeral[243]
PeruDina Boluarte[d]President of PeruDenied permission to attend by the Congress of the Republic of Peru[244]
RussiaVladimir PutinPresident of RussiaForeign travel limited by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant[245]
United KingdomCharles IIIKing of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realmsOfficial protocol does not permit the monarch to attend foreign state funerals[246]
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Eastern Catholic representatives

The following Eastern Catholic hierarchs were noted in media coverage for not attending the Supplicatio Ecclesiae Orientalium:

Family members

Most immediate members of the Pope's family did not attend, including his sister, who was in poor health, niece Cristina Bergoglio, and other nieces, nephews, and their descendants. Some family members reportedly chose not to attend the funeral out of respect for his view that their resources would be better spent charitably.[251]

See also

Notes

  1. Also known as "Taiwan". The Holy See has had official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) instead of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since the end of the Chinese Civil War. See also Political status of Taiwan.
  2. The Republic of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has attained partial international recognition, is not officially recognized by the Holy See. See also Political status of Kosovo.

References

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