This is what First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos said about Pope Francis.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos arrived in Rome, and the FL has this to share about Pope Francis.
The pope died on April 21, leaving the world grieving. Pope Francis died at the age of 88 due to a stroke that led to a coma and caused his heart to fail. He had been in poor health since early this year, and the final public appearance he made was on Easter Sunday. The day after, he left.
Several world leaders confirmed their attendance at the funeral, and among them are President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. They have arrived in Rome on Friday for the pope’s scheduled funeral on April 26, 2025.
In an interview with Vicky Morales on “Saksi,” the first couple reminisced about the kindness and compassion of the pope following his 2015 visit to Manila and Tacloban. These areas were devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
“When I met him, he [was] humble and kind, and you feel like you’re blessed by God,” said the First Lady.
More than 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs are expected to attend Saturday’s funeral, while there are expected to be around 200,000 mourners.
On Wednesday, PBBM declared a period of national mourning in the Philippines over the death of the pope through Proclamation No. 871. It was implemented immediately until the burial of Pope Francis on Saturday. During this period, the national flag shall be flown at half-mast on all government buildings and establishments across the country and abroad.
Here’s a list of world leaders who will attend the funeral:
- 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
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