Grazie Francesco
Pope Francis, 265th Successor to St. Peter, Laid to Rest in Rome
Welcome to your World Briefing Weekend, collated today from London, England…..
After a solemn but beautiful Requiem Mass, Pope Francis’ mortal remains made their way across the Eternal City to his final resting place: the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. Over 150,000 people lined the streets of Rome to bid a final farewell to Pope Francis, who on Easter Sunday, the day before he died, had driven around St. Peter's Square in his popemobile, where he, perhaps unknowingly, said goodbye to the faithful. The procession on Saturday travelled through the ancient ruins of Rome, past the monument of the fallen soldiers in Piazza Venezia. The late Pope, who so tirelessly advocated for peace, was driven past the ancient Roman Forum and the Colosseum, where his beautiful meditations for the Good Friday Way of the Cross had been read aloud just one week before, denouncing the economy of indifference and calling for an economy of peace. The popemobile-turned-hearse drove up to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where his coffin was raised towards the crowd for a final goodbye. Inside the Basilica, the Pope’s coffin was held for a few moments before the entrance to the Pauline Chapel, so that he could face the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani before being taken to the niche beside it prepared for his tomb. At 1:00 PM, the Rite of the Burial of the Roman Pontiff began. The rite took place according to the prescriptions of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, presided over by Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell, in the presence of those indicated in the relevant Notice from the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations and the family members of the deceased Pope. The liturgical ceremony concluded at 1:30 PM. Pope Francis has now been laid to rest in the burial niche in the side nave between the Sforza Chapel and the Pauline Chapel, which houses the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani. We can be sure that the two of them will never leave each other’s sides.
One of Pope Francis’ enduring legacies was that he greatly expanded the diversity of cardinals who will elect his successor, naming “princes of the church” from faraway countries that had never had one before.
That legacy is now throwing a wrench in the traditional sport of speculating about the next pope, since these far-flung cardinals don’t know one another well and haven’t coalesced into clear voting blocs going into the conclave, the centuries-old ritual to elect a new pope. As a result, all that is certain about the upcoming conclave is that there is no certainty. As the Oscar-nominated film “Conclave” made clear, the election of a pope is a Hollywood-worthy drama steeped in mystery, secrecy and faith. But real-world politics and personal calculations come into play and will weigh on the 130-plus cardinals when they enter the Sistine Chapel to cast their ballots. No date has yet been set for the conclave, but it must start by May 10. After Francis’ funeral Saturday, the cardinals who have flocked to Rome will meet regularly this week, sizing one another up as they discuss the needs of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church following Francis’ revolutionary papacy - AP
Donald Trump has been accused of a fashion faux-pas after arriving at Pope Francis’s funeral in a blue suit rather than the required black.
The US president attended the service at St Peter’s Basilica wearing a blue suit and matching blue tie, despite a strict Vatican dress code stipulating men must wear a dark suit, white shirt, and a long black tie. All other accessories — including shoes, socks, coats and umbrellas — were also required to be black. Seated prominently in the front row of international dignitaries, Trump’s bright blue suit and American flag lapel pin drew criticism online, with some X users saying he "stood out like a sore thumb". One post read: "What is it with Trump that he did not even have the decency to wear a black tie, never mind he wore a blue suit." - London Evening Standard
Donald Trump has questioned Vladimir Putin's willingness to end the war in Ukraine following his meeting with the country's leader Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral. Posting on social media after leaving Rome, Trump said he feared Putin was "tapping me along" after Moscow's strikes on Kyiv earlier this week, adding there was "no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas". Earlier in the day Trump and Zelensky were seen in deep discussion in St Peter's Basilica shortly before the funeral began. The White House described the 15-minute meeting with Zelensky as "very productive". The Ukrainian president said it had the "potential to become historic". It was Trump's first face-to-face encounter with the Ukrainian president since February's acrimonious Oval Office showdown. Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump said the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities "makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?'". Trump had previously said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal" following three-hour talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president on Friday. The Kremlin meanwhile said on Saturday that Putin had confirmed Russia's readiness to enter into direct talks with Ukraine "without preconditions" to Witkoff - BBC
My comment: A few things stood out from the impromptu meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the Pope’s funeral. First, wasn’t it a desecration of the Basilica and the funeral itself to bring politics into such an event? As several of us agreed here in London: guys, get a hotel room. Second, if I were Zelensky, I wouldn’t have given Trump the time of day after the humiliating dressing down in the Oval Office just weeks ago. Even if the meeting produced a brief, positive narrative for Ukraine, Trump is sure to revert to praising Putin. As I’ve often said, there’s no floor to Trump’s subservience to him. I have a strong feeling many Ukrainians would’ve preferred Zelensky skip this encounter. While many newspapers splashed front-page headlines about the meeting—some even calling it "the Pope’s last act"—it’s unlikely to change the course of history.
Several people have been killed and multiple others injured after the driver of a black SUV slammed into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, Canada Saturday evening, say police. It happened shortly after 8 p.m. near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, where the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party was starting to wind down, after drawing up to 100,000 people through the day. Police say a Vancouver man in his 30s is now in custody. Vancouver Coastal Health told The Canadian Press it had confirmed a "code orange," indicating a mass casualty event. The health authority was not able to confirm the number of injured or dead as of late Saturday night. Earlier, videos posted on social media showed emergency crews at the scene, with several people lying on the ground — some appearing injured. Interim police Chief Steve Rai, in a midnight news briefing, said bystanders held the suspect before police arrived. He said the man was known to police "in certain circumstances." Rai said the event had been assessed and monitored for security with stakeholders — including those in charge of garbage trucks used in the past to block streets from traffic. The investigation is ongoing and is being led by the Vancouver police major crime section. Lapu Lapu Day is named after an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who fought against Spanish colonization in the 16th Century. Saturday's event was the second annual street celebration of the day in Vancouver, and organizers had said it was an opportunity to mark "the enduring impact on Filipino values, notably the spirit of bayanihan — the collective community effort." After South Asians and Chinese, the Filipino community is the third-largest cultural group in B.C. Statistics Canada says more than 174,000 people in the community represent 3.5 per cent of the province's total population - CBC (***At least nine people are confirmed dead at 11:10am BST)
Russia has admitted for the first time that it deployed North Korean soldiers in the battle to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk region following Kyiv's shock incursion into the border area last year. In a statement on April 26, the Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged the "significant contribution" of North Korean soldiers to Moscow's war efforts. Citing the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and North Korea from December 4, 2024, the ministry said "a new page has been written in the glorious annals of the military brotherhood of the Russian and Korean peoples…The fighters of the Korean People's Army...fought shoulder to shoulder, in the same trench, and shed blood with our soldiers and officers in the Kursk region and made a significant contribution to the liberation of Russian land from enemy occupiers." General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s general staff, told President Vladimir Putin in a video conference that North Korean soldiers had made a significant contribution to the "liberation" of the region from Ukrainian soldiers. The comments confirmed what Ukrainian and Western officials have long said: that Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year. US officials said more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers participated in the fight and had suffered massive losses - RFE/RL
Canada’s historic federal election takes place tomorrow, and has morphed into a tight race shaped by Donald Trumps tariff and territorial threats against Canada. According to the CTV News poll tracker, the incumbent Liberals lead with 42 percent vs the Conservatives with 39 percent. I am on my way to Ottawa and will be providing analysis and commentary from the nation’s capital.
The journals…
Trump has some sort of narcissistic personality disorder and he needs to always be the centre of attention no matter what; hence the inappropriate blue suit.