The first pilgrims for today's funeral ceremony of Pope Francis, which begins at 11:00 a.m. Bulgarian time (10:00 a.m. Italian time), began to enter St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, after passing through checkpoints, ANSA reported.
The Italian news agency noted that many of the faithful ran to take seats in the front rows, which are restricted to ordinary citizens. At the request of Pope Francis, his mortal remains will be laid to rest in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore -
Many of the faithful slept last night in the approaches to St. Peter's waiting to be admitted to the square for today's farewell with the Holy Father.
Heads of state, prime ministers, monarchs and 130 foreign delegations have confirmed their presence at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican today, Agence France-Presse summarizes and presents a list of high-ranking guests. The funeral ceremony is at 11:00 Bulgarian time (10:00 Italian time).
Bulgaria is represented by Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. He leads a delegation, which includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See Kostadin Kodjabashev, the press service of the Prime Minister announced on April 23.