Pope Francis’s Funeral to Be Held on Saturday, Many World Leaders Expected 

The body of Pope Francis is placed in an open casket during the rite of the declaration of death in Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, April 22, 2025. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS
The body of Pope Francis is placed in an open casket during the rite of the declaration of death in Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, April 22, 2025. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS
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Pope Francis’s Funeral to Be Held on Saturday, Many World Leaders Expected 

The body of Pope Francis is placed in an open casket during the rite of the declaration of death in Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, April 22, 2025. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS
The body of Pope Francis is placed in an open casket during the rite of the declaration of death in Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, April 22, 2025. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS

Pope Francis' funeral will be held on Saturday in St. Peter's Square, Roman Catholic cardinals decided on Tuesday, setting the stage for a solemn ceremony that will draw leaders from around the world. 

Francis, 88, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalized. 

The pontiff spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year suffering from double pneumonia. But he returned to the Vatican almost a month ago and had seemed to be recovering, appearing in St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday. 

The Vatican on Tuesday released photographs of Francis dressed in his vestments and laid in a wooden coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, where he lived during his 12-year papacy. Swiss Guards stand on either side of the casket. 

His body will be taken into the adjacent St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. (0700 GMT), in a procession led by cardinals, allowing the faithful to pay their last respects to the first Latin American pope. 

His funeral service will be held in St. Peter's Square, in the shadow of the Basilica, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT). 

US President Donald Trump, who clashed repeatedly with the pope about immigration, said he and his wife would fly to Rome for the service. 

Among other heads of state set to attend were Javier Milei, president of Francis' native Argentina, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to a source in his office. 

ANCIENT RITUALS 

In a break from tradition, Francis confirmed in his final testament released on Monday that he wished to be buried in Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not St. Peter's, where many of his predecessors were laid to rest. 

Francis's sudden death has set in motion ancient rituals, as the 1.4-billion-member Church started the transition from one pope to another, including the breaking of the pope's "Fisherman's Ring" and lead seal, used in his lifetime to seal documents, so they cannot be used by anyone else. 

All cardinals in Rome were summoned to a meeting on Tuesday to decide on the sequencing of events in the coming days and review the day-to-day running of the Church in the period before a new pope is elected. 

A conclave to choose a new pope normally takes place 15 to 20 days after the death of a pontiff, meaning it should not start before May 6. 

Some 135 cardinals are eligible to participate in the secretive ballot, which can stretch over days before white smoke pouring from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel tells the world that a new pope has been picked. 

At present there is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis. 

PROGRESSIVE 

Pope Francis inherited a Church in disarray and worked hard to overhaul the Vatican's central administration, root out corruption and, after a slow start, confront the scourge of child abuse within the ranks of the priesthood. 

He often clashed with conservatives, nostalgic for a traditional past, who saw Francis as overly liberal and too accommodating to minority groups. 

Francis appointed nearly 80% of the cardinal electors scattered across the world who will choose the next pope, increasing, but not guaranteeing, the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies. 

Many of the cardinals are little known outside their own countries and they will have a chance to get to know one another at meetings known as General Congregations that take place in the days before a conclave starts and where a profile of the qualities needed for the next pope will take shape. 

The Vatican said late on Monday that staff and officials within the Holy See could immediately start to pay their respects before the pope's body at the Santa Marta residence, where Francis set up home in 2013, shunning the grand, apostolic palace his predecessors had lived in. 



Taiwan Will 'Not Provoke Confrontation' with China, Vice President Says

Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim makes a speech at a briefing for foreign media in Taipei, Taiwan July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim makes a speech at a briefing for foreign media in Taipei, Taiwan July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
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Taiwan Will 'Not Provoke Confrontation' with China, Vice President Says

Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim makes a speech at a briefing for foreign media in Taipei, Taiwan July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim makes a speech at a briefing for foreign media in Taipei, Taiwan July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Taiwan will not provoke a confrontation with China, the self-ruled island’s vice president said Friday, lamenting Beijing’s “aggressive military posturing” against the island democracy that China claims as its own.

“We do not seek conflict. We will not provoke confrontation,” said Bi-khim Hsiao, adding that her government has urged Beijing to communicate “with parity and respect.”

Hsiao, who has served under Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te since their election win last year, said her government has seen “a dramatic uptick in provocative and proactive CCP efforts to infiltrate, sabotage and divide our society," referring to the Chinese Communist Party, The AP news reported.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly threatened to annex it, by force if necessary. In recent years, Beijing has ramped up its military intimidation of the island, sending jets and ships nearby almost daily.

China refuses to speak with Hsiao and Lai and has labeled them “diehard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists,” a designation for which it has threatened the death penalty.

In a notable attempt of alleged intimidation by Beijing, Czech intelligence officials last month said Chinese diplomats planned to stage a car crash during Hsiao's 2024 visit to the country. No crash occurred, but a Chinese official ran a red light while following Hsiao’s car.

Speaking at the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club in Taipei, Hsiao said she has experienced “varying degrees of pressure and threats” over the years, including sanctions by China.

“But I will not let that intimidate me or stop me from voicing my views or from voicing the views of the people of Taiwan, and we will continue to be active in the international community,” she said.

Regarding recurring US intelligence reports that China may be planning to invade Taiwan before 2027, Hsiao said her government is focused on preempting that.

“Everything we are doing right now is to prevent such a conflict from happening — not just in 2027, but ever,” she said.

Taiwan is “very urgently investing in our self-defense capabilities” in order to deter “any miscalculation and any attempt at disrupting the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” she added.

Taiwan on Friday wrapped up annual military drills, which simulated defenses against a possible invasion by China. The drills included fortifying ports and possible Chinese landing points on the island, as well as civil defense exercises.

Taiwan sources most of its weapons from the United States, which is bound by its own laws to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

Like most countries, the US does not recognize Taiwan as country, but acts as its main unofficial ally. Washington supports preserving the status quo in Taipei’s relationship with Beijing, which means neither side should make a move toward independence or annexation, respectively.

Taiwan’s relationship with the US is “very important” and has historically held through different administrations while garnering bipartisan congressional support, Hsiao said.

Trade negotiators from the two sides are working “around the clock” to reach a deal that would pre-empt tariffs of 32% on all Taiwanese goods from coming into effect Aug. 1, she said. Washington lowered tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 10% for 90 days to allow for the trade talks.

The tariffs are part of duties President Donald Trump levied against nearly all US trading partners beginning in April, accusing them of running large trade surpluses.