First Lady Melania Trump, whose fashion is often thought to reflect her mood, wore a black lace veil to the funeral of Pope Francis.
The former fashion model, the first practicing Catholic to serve as first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy, attended the April 26 service in a double breasted coat dress paired with a traditional veil, gloves and black stilettos.
President Donald Trump, who attended alongside the Slovenian-born first lady, donned a signature blue suit.
The first lady’s outfit harkens back to the dress and veil she wore to the Vatican during her husband’s first trip abroad as president in 2017, when she described meeting Pope Francis as an experience she would “never forget.” Kennedy also wore a black dress and black lace mantilla when meeting Pope John XXIII in 1962.
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Mantillas, also known as chapel veils, are customary among some Catholic women who typically wear the traditional headpieces to Catholic Mass.
Melania Trump sports dark, modest look for second Inauguration ceremony
“Today’s visit with His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex is one I’ll never forget,” she wrote in an X post at the time. “I was humbled by the honor. Blessings to all.”
The president and first lady were among hundreds of thousands of mourners and dozens of world leaders and dignitaries that packed St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the funeral. Saturday also was Melania Trump’s 55th birthday.
The Trumps were seated in the front row for the service and the president’s midnight blue suit stood in contrast to the waves of black. Former President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden were seated a few rows behind their successors.
After the Mass, Francis’ coffin was placed on an open-air popemobile and transported to the burial site outside the Vatican by a motorcade that traversed the streets of Rome, lined by cheering crowds.
Melania Trump has courted controversy, garnered attention for her fashion
Trump’s fashion choices are the subject of fierce controversy and constant attention. Earlier this year, she emerged on Jan. 21 for her husband’s second inauguration ceremony in an outfit that evoked a somber, modest mood.
She often surprises fashion onlookers with both her bargain buys and luxurious looks but her low-key black dress, and a matching wide brim hat, at the swearing-in was a stark departure from the Jacqueline Kennedy-inspired powder blue dress that she wore for her husband’s first inauguration in 2017.
In a move that ignited an outcry from critics in 2018, she sported a short trench coat with “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” scrawled on the back was worn during a trip to visit a migrant children’s shelter in Texas.
The message, written in white letters on the back of a military-green jacket, was identified as a $39 item sold by Zara.
The fashion moment, considered by some to be a major faux pas, came amid fierce criticism of the first Trump administration’s approach to immigration in America. At the time, then-Trump spokeswoman turned critic Stephanie Grisham slammed media attention of the jacket.
“It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message. After today’s important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn’t going to choose to focus on her wardrobe,” Grisham said. The president took to Twitter, known now as X, with a message of his own: “‘I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?’ written on the back of Melania’s jacket, refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!”
Contributing: Sam Woodward, Kinsey Crowley, Maria Puente, Susan Miller, Kim Hjelmgaard and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
