Pope Francis funeral date set as Catholics mourn
Pope Francis’ procession will be held on Wednesday, and his funeral service will take place Saturday April 26.
The first lady of the United States, who once met Pope Francis and previously became the first practicing Catholic to hold the position in decades, is set to join President Donald Trump in attending the pope’s funeral on Saturday.
Donald and Melania Trump’s upcoming visit to the Vatican draws back to their first trip abroad as president and first lady in 2017, when Melania described meeting Pope Francis as an experience she would “never forget.”
The first lady used the opportunity to bring rosary beads for the pontiff to bless, and confirmed to the world that she was, in fact, Catholic, according to media reports at the time.
“Today’s visit with His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex is one I’ll never forget,” she wrote in a post on Twitter at the time. “I was humbled by the honor. Blessings to all.”
Melania Trump in 2017 became the first Catholic first lady in the White House since Jacqueline Kennedy, multiple outlets including CNN reported at the time, adding that Kennedy also wore a black dress and black lace mantilla when meeting the pope in 1962.
She had also written to Francis asking to visit the pediatric care unit at the Bambino Gesu hospital outside of the Vatican city-state during her visit, just as Princess Diana and Mother Teresa had, USA TODAY reported in 2017.
Melania and Donald Trump to attend the Pope’s funeral
President Trump and the first lady will be attending the Pope’s funeral on April 26 (which also happens to be her birthday), despite some testy moments between the two leaders in the past.
“Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!” the president posted on Truth Social on April 21.
Even before his first term in the White House, President Trump had a contentious relationship with Pope Francis. In 2013, Trump questioned the pope’s frugality. In 2015, he said Francis was too political, and the pontiff later suggested Trump wasn’t Christian over his “build a wall” rhetoric.
Despite that, Trump wore a smile in his official visit with the pope as president and gave him a boxed set of the writings of Martin Luther King Jr.
And most recently, Vice President JD Vance met with Francis this past Easter, the day before Francis’ death, despite the pope being openly critical of the recent Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Contributing: Eric J. Lyman, Michael Collins
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.