Around 250,000 mourners flooded the streets of Rome to bid farewell to Pope Francis, widely known as the "People's Pope," at his funeral in St. Peter's Square on Saturday morning. Dignitaries, heads of state and reigning monarchs were among those with reserved seats at the funeral Mass, including President Trump and first lady Melania Trump.
With delegations from about 130 countries at the ceremony, the seating chart had to be planned accordingly. Here's how it worked:
How Pope Francis' funeral seating chart was arranged
The official delegations were seated in a special section to the right of the altar outside of St. Peter's Basilica.
Francis made history as the first pontiff from South America. So it was only fitting that Argentina — Francis' native country — was represented in the front row with Argentine President Javier Milei. Milei sat next to his sister, Karina, who serves as general secretary of the presidency. Next to them was Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who was seated up front because the pope is the bishop of Rome.
The seating arrangements following Italy were then based on the French diplomatic alphabetical order. So, for example, the United States wouldn't be "U," it would be "E" after the French translation "États-Unis." According to Reuters, reigning monarchs were given priority over other heads of state in the order.
Where was Donald Trump sitting at the pope's funeral?
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Estonian President Alar Karis, King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain attend the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square on April 26, 2025. Getty Images
Mr. Trump and the first lady walked into St. Peter's Square and were directed to their front row seats around 4 a.m. ET, ahead of the service. They were seated next to Estonian President Alar Karis, King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain. Across the aisle, to their right, was Finland's President Alexander Stubb, with whom he was seen speaking at the start of the ceremony.
As many pointed out online, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy was also seated in the front row - an aisle over from Mr. Trump. Photos from the funeral show Zelenskyy was 10 seats away from Mr. Trump. Interactions between the pair have been closely watched ever since their heated Oval Office exchange over the war in Ukraine in late February.
The White House revealed on Monday that Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy had a private meeting in the Vatican before they took their seats at the funeral service. The Trump administration described it as a "very productive discussion." Zelenskyy agreed it was a "good meeting" and said in a statement on social media that they "discussed a lot."
Former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden also went to Rome to pay their respects to Francis. He was sitting four rows behind Mr. Trump, the BBC reports.
Here were some other notable leaders in attendance:
Britain's Prince William
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer
French President Emmanuel Macron
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Ireland's President Michael D. Higgings
Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen
European Council President Antonio Costa
Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
Denmark's Queen Mary
Jordan's King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Honduras' President Xiomara Castro
Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
India's president Droupadi Murmu
President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi
President of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves
