A gesture of farewell: how the Pope's funeral turned into another summit
The world has said goodbye to Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88. At least 160 foreign delegations attended the funeral, including US President Donald Trump and leaders of other Western countries. The funeral was another opportunity to discuss the Ukrainian conflict. Zelensky and his European allies tried to use the farewell ceremony with the pontiff to try to convince Trump to change his position towards Russia. Russia had previously confirmed its readiness to negotiate with Kiev without preconditions. About how the Pope's funeral became a platform for political negotiations — in the Izvestia article.
How Pope Francis was buried
Pope Francis was buried on April 26 in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which is located outside the Vatican. This is what the head of the Roman Catholic Church himself determined in his will. Before that, a funeral mass for the pontiff was held in St. Peter's Square, and the liturgy was led by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re. According to La Repubblica, 970 people attended the service, including 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests.
"Pope Francis has decided to follow the path of self-sacrifice until the last day of his earthly life," Cardinal Re said in his homily.
Pope Francis died on the morning of April 21 at the age of 89. He was elected head of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2013 after the resignation of his predecessor Benedict XVI. According to Professor Andrea Archangeli, director of the Vatican's Office of Health and Hygiene, death occurred as a result of a cerebral stroke. The last time the pontiff appeared in public was on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica during Easter celebrations on April 20. It was reported that he had been struggling with bilateral pneumonia for a long time.
Francis' funeral was different from the usual ones, as the pontiff himself insisted. For example, the ceremony of announcing the pope's death took place in the chapel, and not in the chambers where he died. In addition, the pontiff asked to be buried in a single wooden coffin lined with zinc. As a rule, the body of the late head of the Vatican is placed in three coffins — made of cypress, lead and oak.
A quarter of a million people have visited St. Peter's Cathedral since Wednesday morning, April 23, to say goodbye to the Pope. Due to the large number of people, the basilica's opening hours were extended past midnight on Wednesday and Thursday. More than 200,000 people attended the funeral ceremony itself. For comparison, about 50,000 people attended the funeral of retired Pope Benedict XVI in 2023, and about 300,000 attended the farewell of John Paul II in 2005.
Because of the massive funeral, Rome was turned into an impregnable fortress. More than 11,000 law enforcement, military and security personnel have been deployed in the Italian capital with the support of advanced technologies and latest generation interception systems. In particular, the destroyer D554 Caio Duilio of the Italian Navy anchored off the coast of Fiumicino, near the mouth of the Tiber. Rome has also deployed at least five RCD systems to combat drones.
The Vatican announced that more than 160 delegations, including 54 heads of state and 12 ruling monarchs, had arrived to participate in the farewell ceremony. Among the world leaders who attended the funeral were US President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Argentine President Javier Miley, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Russia was represented by the Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova.
The day of the funeral service and funeral is the first of nine days of mourning. The final stage will be the conclave, which meets 15-20 days after the pope's death in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next pontiff.
Why Zelensky and the Europeans were looking for a meeting with Trump
Through the efforts of Western leaders, the funeral of the head of the Roman Catholic Church eventually turned into a summit, the main topic of which was the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Earlier, the US president came up with a plan for a peaceful resolution of the situation, which provides for Kiev's recognition of the loss of 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the legal recognition of Crimea as the territory of the Russian Federation. Zelensky opposed the latter, which led to a reduction in the diplomatic level of negotiations between the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine, which took place on April 23 in London.
Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine need to start negotiations, as most of the provisions of a possible agreement on the settlement of the conflict have been agreed. Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, confirmed Russia's readiness for talks with Kiev without any preconditions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The main obstacle to this remains the ban on direct negotiations with Russia, which the Ukrainian authorities introduced in October 2022.
The contradictions between the countries of Western Europe and the United States are intensifying, as evidenced by the public controversy between the leaders of European countries and Trump. EU leaders are trying to use every opportunity to influence the American leader in order to change his position on Ukraine, including a meeting during the funeral of the pontiff, political scientist, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of Moscow State University Vladimir Shapovalov told Izvestia.
— There are many contradictions between Zelensky and Trump, starting with the never-signed agreement on minerals. Western countries do not have serious resources to put pressure on Trump, his position has already been formed and will not undergo significant changes, the expert believes.
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky before the funeral ceremony took place, but it lasted only a few minutes. After that, the leaders of the United States and Ukraine took to the square in front of the cathedral along with other politicians. The White House called this conversation "very productive" and promised to provide detailed information later. Trump also spoke briefly with British Prime Minister Starmer and French President Macron. The second meeting between Zelensky and Trump did not take place - instead of the American president, he held talks with the leaders of France and the United Kingdom.
Can the Vatican take part in the negotiations on Ukraine
The Pope's departure and the election of a new pontiff are also important for the reason that the Vatican sought to participate in the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. Statements about the need for negotiations were made by Francis himself, and in 2023 he instructed Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to conduct a mission that would help ease tensions.
Zuppi made visits to Kiev, Moscow, Washington and Beijing, which resulted in agreements on the creation of a mechanism for the reunification of minors with their parents and guardians. Now it is Zuppi who is considered by many as one of the main candidates for the papal throne.
— The probability of the new Pope's participation as moderator of the negotiations on Ukraine is low for various reasons. First of all, due to the serious degree of affiliation of the Vatican with Western countries, it cannot be considered as a neutral entity," the political scientist noted.
The Vatican's main task now is to elect a Pope and set a course. There is a contradiction between the individual parts of the elite within the RCC. Not everyone shared the modernist course of the deceased pontiff, the expert concluded - there is a possibility that the conservatives will try to seize power.
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