President Prabowo to send envoy for Pope Francis' funeral

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto plans to send an envoy to attend Pope Francis' funeral at the Vatican, Rome, on April 26.

Indonesian Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi stated on Wednesday that the president will likely be unable to attend the funeral in person.

"Due to several reasons, the president will likely not be able to attend the Pope's funeral in person. He plans to send an envoy," Hadi told reporters.

He is currently awaiting the outcome of the coordination regarding the certainty of attendance and the selection of the president's envoy who will later depart for Rome to attend Pope Francis' funeral.

On a separate occasion, Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono outlined several candidates for the envoy, including Indonesian seventh President Joko Widodo; Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Djiwandono, who served as General Chair of the 2024 National Christmas Celebration Committee; and the former minister of energy and mineral resources Ignasius Jonan, who led the committee for Pope Francis' Apostolic Visit to Indonesia in September 2024.

Pope Francis' funeral mass is scheduled for Saturday (April 26) at 10:00 local time in St. Peter's Square, Vatican, Rome.

Dean of the College of Cardinals of the Holy See, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the funeral mass, which will also be attended by cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from around the world.

The Eucharistic procession will then conclude with the Ultima commendatio and Valedictio, marking the start of Novemdiales, or nine days of mourning and mass for the repose of Pope Francis.

From St. Peter's Basilica, the body of the late Pope Francis will be taken to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy, to be buried according to his will.

Several world leaders have confirmed their attendance at Pope Francis' funeral, including United States President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German President and Chancellor Frank Walter Steinmeier and Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Argentine President Javier Gerardo Milei, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Pope Francis died at the age of 88 at his residence at 7:35 a.m. Vatican time on Easter Monday.