A conclave before the conclave, the greeting of Felipe VI to Trump and the memory of Francisco: the anecdotes of the Pope’s funeral

A funeral full of anecdotes. The last goodbye to Pope Francis in the Plaza de San Pedro has left numerous outstanding moments. Among them, to see numerous international leaders and heads of the State in the first ranks, in full tension with the United States for tariffs and doubts about the future of war in Ukraine.

What is surprising is that at the funeral of a pontiff who has advocated since minute one for peace and the end of all wars, There have been some bilateral meetings with peace as the protagonist. Like the one they have maintained.

From the early morning, tens of thousands of faithful have begun to fill the Plaza de San Pedro. A few minutes before 10:00 a.m., at which time the funeral mass has started, different international leaders wanted to offer their respect for Pope Francis inside the Basilica of San Pedro.

The kiss of the Pope’s coffin to the coffin

The Kings have been accompanied by the Spanish delegation that has moved to the city of the Vatican to attend the ceremony, composed of the vice presidents María Jesús Montero and Yolanda Díaz, the Minister of Presidency, Félix Bolaños, and the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.

At that time, Felipe VI and Letizia have remained a few moments in front of the Pope’s coffin. A scene that has caught attention, not for them, but for People who were close to the Pontiff’s coffin.

In front of the kings, were Pope’s personal health assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, and five other men. .

Trump’s meeting with Zelenski

One of the news of the day has been the brief meeting before and after the funeral that Donald Trump and Zelenski have held. The White House has cataloged the first “very productive” meeting.

“President Trump and President Zelenski They gathered privately today and had a very productive meeting“said the communication director of the White House, Steven Cheung, on the first meeting.

“Good meeting. We talk a lot, individually. We expect results in everything treated. Protect the life of our people. High total and unconditional fire,” Zelenski said in X.

“A safe and lasting peace that avoids another war. A very symbolic meeting that could become historical if we achieve joint results. Thank you, Trump, “he has put in the message.

After the brief but “positive” meeting between Trump and Zelenski, the Ukrainian president continued his round of conversations with the rest of international leaders, with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and later with Ursula von der Leyen.

Previously, Zelenski had already met with the president of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron to talk about the next steps to give a negotiated exit to the war. Although he did the same with several leaders, along with those seen by talking in Corro.

“President Zelenski continues his active work with allies with a face to face With Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Vatican”, Wrote in XX the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Andrí Sibiga. Sibiga.

In this order of meetings and parallel conversations throughout the morning, there was also time for ‘uncomfortable’ meetings. As the president of the European Commission (CE), Ursula von der Leyen and the US president agreed to meet in the near future. All this after a brief exchange of words and a brief greeting.

“In its brief exchange, President von der Leyen and President Trump agreed to gather, “ The spokeswoman for the Community Executive, Paula Pihno, informed the press, without specifying when or where the meeting would take place. This has been The first meeting of both leaders From the arrival of the Republican to the White House.

Macron, satisfied after his encounter with Zelenski

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, also highlighted the will of peace of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski, after a meeting that both held outside the funeral by Pope Francis, and asked Vladimir Putin to demonstrate his.

“Very positive conversation today with President Zelenski in Rome“Macron said in an X message.” Ukraine is ready to (accept) a high unconditional fire. President Zelenski has reiterated it today, “he added. All this, after a brief conversation along with the US president, Donald Trump, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in addition to Zelenski.

Macron stressed that Zelenski “wants to work along with Americans and Europeans” to set up the fire in their country.

For its part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in her meeting with the Ukrainian President that Ukraine can count on support of the community block in negotiations to achieve peace.

“Estimated (Zelenski), Europe will always be next to Ukraine in the search for peace. You can count on our support at the negotiating table to achieve fair and lasting peace, ”said Von der Leyen in a message on social networks accompanied by a video of both.

“Today we have also talked about the steps that Ukraine is taking To earn his place in our family of nations, ”added the president of the European Executive.

Julian Assange, present at the last goodbye to the Pope

Another of the known faces that has been seen in Rome has been the Julian Assange, Founder of the Filtration page WikiLeakswho has come with his family to the farewell of Pope Francis.

With a message through the account of her organization in X, Assange’s wife, Stella, recalled as Both she and her children had “the honor” of being received by Francisco in June 2023 while her husband was locked in the London prison of Belmarsh.

“Now that Julian is free, We have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the support of the Pope During the persecution of Julian, “said Assange’s wife, before remembering that Francisco wrote to her husband in jail and ensure that the Pontiff offered her the possibility of receiving asylum in the Vatican.

Felipe VI and Trump’s greeting

Logically, the distances, another of the images of the day also has Donald Trump as one of the protagonists. The other is King Felipe VI. Both have been sitting a few centimeters, in the first row of authorities.

The protocol location has placed the kings practically next to him and his wife, only separated by the president of Estonia, Alar Karis, during the funeral.

Upon his arrival before the start of the Mass, the American leader has begun to greet several authorities around him, but not to the Spanish monarch. In fact, first, it was Melania Trump who greeted both Felipe VI and Letizia.

But later, after connecting, visually, the king has put his hand to the president of the United States and they have ended up giving a handshake. It has not been the only gesture between them. In the Eucharist, The American president has also given peace to the kings.

A simple, but historical funeral

The forecasts pointed to a historical funeral, with about 200,000 faithful in the Plaza de San Pedro, and have ended up complying and with more than. The two key moments have been the arrival of the coffin in front of the altar of the Plaza de San Pedro and the final moment, when the pontiff last toured the square on the shoulders of the Sedarians.

With the 250,000 people in the streets of Rome, The expectation for giving Francisco the last goodbye has been maximum. After a mass that left images like that of the authorities giving peace, the Argentine pontiff has lived his last trip through the eternal capital in a papamóvil.

Francisco’s last trip has been a historical mass bath. After leaving the Vatican, he crossed the center of Rome, passing through the Plaza de Largo Argentina, where according to tradition Julio César fell murdered and also passed through the Church of the ‘Gesù’, of the Society of Jesus.

The vehicle has been armored for security, but also by thousands of faithful who have accompanied the Argentine Pope to the place of his grave, which he commissioned in life, in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor.

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