On Wednesday, President Bongbong Marcos made this declaration.
President Bongbong Marcos declares a period of national mourning over the passing of Pope Francis through Proclamation No. 871.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis was hospitalized, and a few weeks after he was discharged, he died. Pope Francis died at the age of 88 due to a stroke that led to a coma and caused his heart to fail.
On Wednesday, Malacañang declared a period of national mourning over the passing of the pope. Based on Proclamation No. 871 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on April 23. The declaration is effective immediately until the burial of Pope Francis on Saturday.
During this time, the national flag shall be flown at half-mast on all government buildings and establishments across the country and abroad. As per the country’s president, who is confirmed to attend the funeral, this is a moment of “profound sorrow for the Catholic Church and for the Filipino people, who recognize him as a global leader of compassion and a tireless advocate for peace, justice, and human dignity.”
The pope will be taken to St. Peter’s Basilica and to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment.
These leaders will attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Here’s a list as of this writing:
- US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania
- President Javier Milei of Argentina
- Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with his wife, Janja
- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
- EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, head of the European Council
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Prince William will represent the head of state, King Charles III
- Ireland’s President Michael Higgins and his wife, along with Prime Minister Michael Martin
- Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with his wife, Olena Zelenska
- Poland’s President Andrzej Duda
- Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever
- King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
- The Netherlands’ Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp
- Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro
- Hungary’s President Tamas Sulyok
- Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker
- Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar with Prime Minister Robert Golob
- Presidents of all three Baltic states will attend: Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia, and Alar Karis of Estonia
- Monaco’s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene
- Czech Republic, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, and Slovakia will also send their leaders
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his first lady Liza Marcos, will attend the funeral
Meanwhile, Cardinal Tagle is among the strong contenders as a potential successor to the pope. There are also cardinals such as Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Peter Erdo, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Cardinal Peter Turkson, Cardinal Sergio da Rocha, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonca, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
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