Valentina di Giorgio
(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 16.09.2022).- Pope Francis will not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral on Monday, September 19, in Westminster Abbey. Over 500 dignitaries, among them Heads of State and Government, will attend the solemn official ceremony organized by the British Government.
However, there will be an official delegation from the Vatican. It will be headed by English Archbishop and current Vatican Secretary for Relations with States (the Holy See’s “Foreign Affairs Minister”) Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher. He will be Pope Francis’ official representative at the funeral.
As opposed to the invitation to the Holy See, there are countries that the British Government has not invited. It’s the case of Russia, Syria, Afghanistan and Venezuela. Iran, Nicaragua and North Korea can only be represented by an Ambassador, given that their heads of States did not receive a personal invitation. Burma [Myanmar] has also not received an invitation.
Among the confirmed international leaders are: Joe Biden, Jair Bolsonaro, Emmanuelle Macron, Justin Trudeau, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Felipe VI of Spain and Japanese Emperor Naruhito.
