ATHENS

Numerous world leaders and royals will attend Pope Francis' funeral in Rome on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, German President and Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Prince William, Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have all confirmed their attendance at the funeral.

Other leaders and royals who will attend Pope Francis' funeral include Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Argentine President Javier Gerardo Milei, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Polish President Andrzej Duda, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Mar.

The leader of the Catholic Church was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, to Italian immigrant parents.

He studied in Argentina and later in Germany before being ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969.

Over a decade into his papacy, Pope Francis remained a figure of admiration and controversy.

He sought to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy, tackle corruption, and address some of the church’s most pressing challenges.

The pope was admitted to a hospital in Rome in February with bronchitis, which developed into bilateral pneumonia. He was discharged after 38 days to continue his recovery at his Vatican residence.

Pope Francis died on Monday at the age of 88.