Ilie Bolojan attends Pope Francis’ funeral

Romania’s interim President Ilie Bolojan will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, according to Digi24. The president’s schedule has not yet been officially announced.

Bolojan sent his condolences to Catholics in Romania and around the world, following the passing of Pope Francis. “I learned with deep sadness about the passing of His Holiness, Pope Francis. In these moments of mourning and profound sadness, I send my condolences to Catholics in Romania and around the world, as well as to all those for whom Pope Francis was a guiding spiritual beacon. He was a symbol of humility, compassion and unwavering commitment to peace and social justice. His Holiness Pope Francis was also a cherished friend, who deeply appreciated the spiritual essence of the Romanian people. May he rest in peace,” stated Ilie Bolojan.

Also, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, according to statements made by the president himself on Monday, EFE reports. The leaders of Paris and Kiev have also announced their intention to attend the funeral.

Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky announced their intention to attend the funeral of Pope Francis While in the Reunion Islands, the French head of state said that he would attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

“We will be at the funeral of the Pope, as it should be,” Macron told reporters. “The presidency is waiting for the date of the Pope’s funeral and is preparing the president’s visit to Rome to say goodbye to the sovereign pontiff,” a source in the presidential administration of Ukraine said.

“Melania and I are going to Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome. We can’t wait to be there!” Donald Trump posted on his social network Truth Social. On Monday morning, Trump sent his condolences for the death of the sovereign pontiff and asked God to bless him. In addition, he signed an executive order to fly US flags at half-staff until sunset on the day of the funeral.

Trump and Jorge Bergoglio have had some dialectical disagreements since the New Yorker’s first presidency (2017-2021), especially on the topic of immigration, with the pope criticizing the president’s plans to build a wall on the Mexican border or his mass deportation project implemented in his second term, which began in January.

Despite this, during a visit to the Vatican in May 2017, the Republican leader described his meeting with the pope, whom he said was “a wonderful person”, as fantastic.

Pope Francis died of a stroke at 07:35 local time (05:35 GMT) on Monday at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta, Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced in a video message. The funeral could take place on Saturday.

The Vatican has released the first images of Pope Francis’ body

The Vatican released the first images of Pope Francis’ body on Tuesday morning, Corriere della Sera reports. The conclave to elect the next pope will begin between 5 and 10 May.

“Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a new beginning”. Pope Francis wrote these lines on 7 February in the preface to Cardinal Angelo Scola’s book, entitled ‘In anticipation of a new beginning. Reflections on old age’, published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana and which will be published next Thursday.

“Eternal life, which those who love already experience on earth in the course of their daily activities, means beginning something that will not end. And precisely for this reason it is a new beginning, because we will experience something that we have never fully experienced: eternity”.