Keir Starmer will accept an invitation to attend the Pope’s funeral this weekend, it was confirmed today.
The PM is making the trip to Rome on Saturday alongside a host of international dignitaries, including Donald Trump and his wife, Melania.
However, Downing Street refused to comment on whether the leaders will be able to meet amid the ceremony, with frantic talks ongoing over a Transatlantic trade deal.
Details of funeral
Details of Francis’s funeral were confirmed this morning, with mass to take place at 10 am local time, celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals.
Trump announced yesterday that he and the First Lady will travel to Rome – the first international trip of his second term. Melania’s 55th birthday is on Saturday.
‘Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome. We look forward to being there!’ he wrote on social media.
Suffered a stroke
The Vatican said Francis, the first pope from Latin America, died after a stroke and requested a simple tomb in Rome.
A pontiff’s funeral and interment must take place four to six days after his death.
The death of Francis, who became the first Latin-American pontiff in 2013 and was one of the oldest popes in the church’s history, came weeks after he was discharged from a Rome hospital having battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.
His medical team said his condition had stabilised, allowing him to continue his convalescence at his Casa Santa Marta residence back at the Vatican. Two weeks after leaving the hospital, he delighted the faithful by making a surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Square.