From Al-Azhar to Turkey: Middle East dignitaries gather for Pope Francis’ funeral

Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt are among the countries sending high-level delegations to Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral, while Israel is sending an ambassador in a possible sign of tension with the Vatican.

The pope died on Monday at the age of 88 following a respiratory illness.

The late Catholic leader leaves a lasting legacy in the Middle East. He was the first pope to visit Iraq and the Gulf. In his final months, he garnered attention for criticizing Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

Francis was mourned by several religious institutions in the region, including the Chaldean and Maronite churches, both of which are in communion with the Catholic Church.

The funeral is set for Saturday. According to the Vatican, 130 delegations are confirmed to be coming, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns. US President Donald Trump is also among the world leaders attending the event.

The following is a breakdown of delegations from the Middle East and North Africa that will be in Rome for the funeral.

Lebanon

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and first lady Neemat Aoun left for Rome on Friday to attend the funeral, the official National News Agency reported.

Lebanon, which has a large Christian population, declared three days of mourning following Francis’ death. Aoun himself is Maronite and the country also has a large Melkite Greek Catholic community.

Jordan

King Abdullah II and Queen Rania flew from Jordan to Italy on Friday to attend the funeral, the official news agency Petra reported.

The king praised Francis as the “Pope of the People” on Monday following the news of the death.

Egypt

A high-level delegation from the Al-Azhar Islamic religious institution will represent Egypt at the funeral. The cohort is expected to be led by Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the state-owned news outlet Al-Ahram reported. The imam called Francis a “true friend to Muslims” on Monday.

Israel

Israel will be represented by its ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman.

Israel sent President Moshe Katsav and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II, the last pope to die in office.

There were tensions between Francis and Israel over the Gaza war. In September, he called Israeli military actions “immoral.” Two months later, he said allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza should be investigated.

On Monday, the Israeli government deleted a post on X that commemorated Francis. The Foreign Ministry said the post had been published in error, per local media. President Isaac Herzog posted about Francis on the social media site thanking him for praying for the return of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Turkey

Turkey will be represented by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, a Turkish official told Al-Monitor.

Iran

Iranian Culture Minister Abbas Salehi departed for Rome on Friday to attend the funeral, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Morocco

Moroccan news outlets reported that Crown Prince Moulay Hassan is expected to represent Morocco at the funeral. Hassan, 21, is next in line to the throne held by his father, King Mohammed VI.

Know more: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani expressed support on Tuesday for Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako to be the next pope, the official Iraqi News Agency reported. Francis made Sako, who heads the Iraq-based Chaldean Catholic Church, a cardinal in 2018. The Iraqi patriarch is not expected to be named pope.

One leading candidate to succeed Francis is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, an Italian who heads the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Al-Monitor’s Ezgi Akin contributed to this report.