Pope Francis Funeral Today: President Droupadi Murmu, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Meghalaya CM Conrad in Vatican

The funeral will take place at the majestic Baroque plaza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican at 1:30 PM India time.

World leaders, including President of India Droupadi Murmu and former US President Donald Trump, are in the Vatican to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 on April 21, Easter Monday.

The funeral will take place at the majestic Baroque plaza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican at 1:30 PM India time.

Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and leader of 1.4 billion Catholics across the globe, will be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

According to the Vatican, 130 delegations have confirmed their attendance at the funeral, including 50 Heads of State and 10 reigning Sovereigns.

Besides President Murmu, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Joshua De Souza will pay their last respects to Pope Francis.

President Droupadi Murmu paid homage to His Holiness Pope Francis at Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City. pic.twitter.com/eymWVVZi4J

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 25, 2025

Paid my heartfelt respects to His Holiness Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. Alongside Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji, I joined the entire world in mourning a spiritual luminary who touched millions of lives with compassion & grace. pic.twitter.com/SFchZARqBW

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 25, 2025

Other world leaders attending include US First Lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince William, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Earlier, the coffin of Pope Francis was sealed after thousands of faithful visited during the final day of public viewing ahead of the funeral Mass.
Known in the Church as the “Rite of the Closing of the Coffin of the Roman Pontiff,” the sealing ceremony was conducted by Archbishop Diego Ravelli and Cardinal Kevin Farrell inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

The ceremony, led by Cardinal-Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, began with the reading of a document listing the stages of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s life and his most important achievements as Pope. The document noted that the memory of the 266th Pope “remains in the heart of the Church and of all humanity.”

The Pope had been lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica since Wednesday. After three days, during which around 250,000 visitors paid their respects, the basilica was emptied out as the final mourners came to say goodbye.

The Pope is resting in front of the Confessio Altar in a simple wooden coffin, wrapped in a red chasuble, wearing a white mitre, and holding a rosary in his hands. The coffin rests at ground level, without a catafalque, as per the Pope’s wishes.

Earlier on Friday, more than 100,000 mourners gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica to view Pope Francis’s open coffin during the final hours of public visitation.

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