President Droupadi Murmu on Friday departed for Vatican City to attend the funeral of Pope Francis later this week. She is accompanied by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, George Kurian and Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Joshua De Souza, her office said in a social media post.
Murmu will be on a two-day visit to Vatican City and offer condolences on behalf of the government and people of India. “President Droupadi Murmu departs for Vatican City to attend the State Funeral of HH Pope Francis,” read the post from the President’s secretariat. Francis, who was the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years, died on Easter Monday. He was 88. Murmu will pay homage to Pope Francis by laying a wreath at Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City on Friday. “On April 26, the president will attend the funeral Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City, which will be attended by dignitaries from around the world,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. India declared a three-day state mourning on the passing of Pope Francis.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi visited the Apostolic Nunciature here on Friday and offered condolences on the passing away of Pope Francis. The former Congress chief also paid a courtesy call on Archbishop Dr Leopoldo Girelli, the Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal. Apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church and the Vatican City.