President Trump indicated Monday – following news of Pope Francis’s death – that he and first lady Melania Trump will be attending the Pope’s funeral at the Vatican, despite the president’s somewhat contentious history with the late leader of the Catholic Church.
Traditionally, papal funerals take place four to six days following their death, so Francis’s funeral is expected to take place before the end of the month. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told reporters that the General Congregation of Cardinals will occur Tuesday morning, during which an exact date for the funeral should be decided.
“Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday afternoon. “We look forward to being there!”
POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL WILL BE SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF PAST PAPAL FUNERALS, PER HIS CHANGE OF PAPAL FUNERAL RITES
Pope Francis meets President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the Apostolic Palace on May 24, 2017 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Trump’s announcement that he would be traveling to Rome for the ceremony followed a separate announcement he made earlier in the day indicating that he had ordered all American flags on government grounds, including military installments and embassies abroad, to fly at half-staff until sunset Monday.
Trump’s relationship with Pope Francis over the years was one marked by ideological differences and – at times – tension.
Amid Trump’s first run for office, Pope Francis criticized one of Trump’s signature campaign promises of building a wall along the southern border, calling the move “not Christian” in 2016.
POPE FRANCIS AND US PRESIDENTS: A LOOK BACK AT HIS LEGACY WITH THE NATION’S LEADERS
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis told reporters during a mid-flight interview on his way to Mexico in 2016, according to a translation from…
