FIRST Minister John Swinney has said he will “express the respect of the people of Scotland” when he attends the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. The SNP leader has travelled to Rome to attend the service after Francis passed away on Easter Monday. He will join UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince William – who is attending on behalf of the King – US president Donald Trump, and a vast array of other leaders and dignitaries.
The Scottish Government said that flags on all of its buildings would fly at half-mast on Saturday to mark the funeral.
The First Minister is expected to arrive at St Peter’s Square at around 9am, alongside other world leaders and thousands of mourners.
Following the service, he will attend a reception at the residence of the UK ambassador to the Holy See, Chris Trott, and will then meet with Bishop Keenan.
The First Minister said: “On behalf of the people of Scotland, I am deeply honoured to attend the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis in Rome to express sorrow, thanks and my respect for the compassion, assurance and hope that he brought to so many.
“People around the world greatly valued the peacefulness, the focus on reconciliation and the spiritual leadership that he gave.
“I am attending to express the respect of the people of Scotland for the leadership that Pope Francis has given, particularly regarding justice, standing in solidarity with the poor, working for peace and reconciliation in the world."
On Friday, reports said that some 150,000 people have passed by Francis’s coffin as he lay in state over three days in St Peter’s Basilica.
Irish President Michael D Higgins was among those to pay his respects, ahead of his attendance at Saturday’s requiem mass.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who will take part in his first conclave to elect a new pope in the coming weeks, said the funeral organisers are well-used to dealing with the sensitivities of such big events.
In an interview with the PA news agency in Rome, he said the funeral will be “without a doubt another masterpiece of stage management when you consider those state leaders who have high opinions of their importance”.
“I think they’ve been doing it since the emperors ruled Rome – that they know how to deal with big egos.
“And I think every leader of a nation that comes here on Saturday will go home reasonably content.”
Following Saturday’s open-air funeral in the square, Francis’s remains will be taken through the streets of Rome in another break with tradition, as his body is brought to a simple underground tomb in the basilica of Saint Mary Major, as per his instructions.
The Vatican said a group of “poor and needy” people will be present on the steps leading to the basilica to pay their last respects before the interment of the coffin, in a nod to Francis’s particular care for the downtrodden.
