Around 200,000 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
- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
- EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen
- European Council President Antonio Costa
- 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
Haley Ott contributed to this report.
Jennifer EarlJennifer Earl is the Vice President of Growth & Engagement at CBS News and Stations. Jennifer has previously written for outlets including The Daily Herald, The Gazette, NBC News, Newsday, Fox News and more.
