US President Donald Trump will not be seated in the front row of dignitaries at Pope Francis’s funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday, according to Vatican protocol.
In fact, he will not even be seated in the second row. Trump will be seated in the third row, according to The Telegraph.
The seating arrangements for dignitaries at the Vatican will follow the alphabetical order of their countries’ names based on the French language.
Hence, the United States becomes Etats Unis and starts with ‘E’, which still means that Trump will be seated ahead of other dignitaries from nearly 130 countries.
Ahead of Trump, Italian and Argentine heads of state and royalty will take precedence, according to the Vatican protocol.
Francis’s native country, Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, who was critical of the Pope before he became leader in 2023, will be seated in the first row along with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Italy – the country which recognised Vatican City as a sovereign state back in 1929 – will get the second preference in seating arrangements. The Pope also serves as the Bishop of Rome.
Not so long ago, Trump was critical of then-US President Joe Biden as he mocked his predecessor for sitting in the 14th row for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in 2022, calling it “humiliating” for the nation.
“This is what’s happened to America in just two short years. No respect. However, a good time for our president to get to know the leaders of certain Third World countries. If I were president, they wouldn’t have sat me back there – and our Country would be much different than it is right now. In real estate, like in politics and in life, location is everything,” Trump had mocked Biden.
Biden will also be attending the funeral but will not be with the official delegation, reported news agency Reuters, citing a diplomatic source. So, the former US President will be sitting way behind along with other VIPs.
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