President Droupadi Murmu pays homage to Pope Francis at Vatican, to attend funeral
President Murmu arrived in Rome earlier on Friday and will be attending the funeral mass of Pope Francis, scheduled to take place on Saturday.
President Droupadi Murmuon Friday visited the Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and paid homage to Pope Francis, who passed away recently.
Informing about the visit of the President, ministry of external affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said that Murmu was also accompanied by union ministers Kiren Rijiju and George Kurian.
“President Droupadi Murmu paid homage to His Holiness Pope Francis at the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. President Murmu was accompanied by Minister Kiren Rijiju and MoS George Kurian to pay respects,” Jaiswal wrote in his X post, while sharing the photos from the visit.
President Murmu arrived in Rome earlier on Friday and will be attending the funeral mass of Pope Francis, scheduled to take place on Saturday, along with dignitaries from around the world. Apart from Rijiju and Kurian, the Indian delegation accompanying the President also includes the Goa assembly deputy speaker Joshua D’Souza.
Mourning for Pope Francis
Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta on April 21, according to a statement from the Vatican. He was the first Latin American pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI on March 13, 2013.
The Government of India had announced a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect on the passing away of Pope Francis, Supreme Pontiff of the Holy See. Two days' state mourning was observed on April 22 and April 23, while one day's state mourning will be observed on the day of the funeral.
The National Flag will be flown at half-mast in all buildings where the National Flag is flown regularly throughout India on Saturday. Also, there will be no official entertainment throughout the country on that day.
The new pope will be chosen soon after a conclave of Cardinals sits to vote for the successor of Pope Francis within days of his funeral.
