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Foreign Minister to represent Sri Lanka at Pope’s funeral
25 Apr, 2025
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath will represent the Government of Sri Lanka at the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis to be held on 26 April 2025 in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
World leaders will be gathering on Saturday to pay their respects to a fellow statesman whose church has more members than their states have citizens.
But they may also use the Pope’s funeral as a rare and unexpected opportunity to conduct a little impromptu diplomacy.
For it will be one of the largest gatherings of global heads of state and government since the funeral of the late Queen in 2022.
Diplomats said there were few plans for formal meetings between government leaders because that would not be in the spirit of what is a solemn occasion.
“We do not want to be disrespectful to our hosts,” one European diplomat said. “But will there be opportunities for brush-byes? Absolutely.”
That was a reference to the serendipitous conversations that can take place on the margins of a summit or a ceremony as leaders “brush by” one another while they find their seats.
Another official said: “It’s a funeral. We are treading carefully.”
The Vatican said 170 delegations were coming including about 50 heads of state, 15 heads of government and 12 reigning monarchs. The chances of them meeting at one of Rome’s two airports on arrival or departure is high. (Colombo Gazette / BBC)
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