Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will represent New Zealand at the funeral for Pope Francis on Saturday, after attending Anzac Day services in Gallipoli the day prior, the Government has today confirmed.
In a statement, Mr Luxon said, “I will join those at St Peter’s Basilica mourning the loss of Pope Francis, while celebrating his service to the more than one billion Catholics across the world, including almost 450,000 in New Zealand.”
The cardinals met in the Vatican’s synod hall yesterday for the first time since Pope Francis’ death. Making their first decisions following his passing, they set Saturday as the date for his funeral and agreed to allow ordinary faithful to begin paying their final respects from Wednesday, when his casket will be brought into St Peter’s Basilica.
The funeral will be held on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square (8pm NZST), to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
