Michelle O’Neill cuts family holiday short in bid to secure invite to Pope Francis’s funeral
First Minister Michelle O'Neill
First Minister Michelle O’Neill could attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on Saturday, it has been reported.
The Sinn Fein minister has cut short a family holiday, with discussions under way to secure an invite, according to the BBC.
It has been confirmed that deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will not be attending.
On Wednesday a spokesperson for the Executive Office confirmed that the First Minister and deputy First Minister have written to Catholic leaders to express their condolences following the death of Pope Francis and will lead tributes in the Assembly on Monday.
Mourners queue overnight to see Pope Francis
Pope Francis died at the age of 88 after a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure on Monday.
Ms O’Neill said she was "very sad" to learn of the Pope’s death this morning and called him a "man of great faith”, adding that Catholics “right across the world, including here in Ireland, will feel his loss deeply”.
Mrs Little-Pengelly said the pontiff was "held in high regard and admiration by so many, not only here in Northern Ireland, but across the rest of the United Kingdom, and Ireland".
Francis's funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 10am local time in St Peter's Square.
Mourners flocked to see the late pontiff after his body was moved on Wednesday morning from his residence at Casa Santa Marta.
Huge crowds gathered throughout the day, standing in the hot Italian sun, as a lengthy queue snaked its way through St Peter's Square all the way to the Holy Door of the basilica.
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In accordance with the late pope's wishes, he will be buried at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.
Security measures have been heightened around the Vatican, with Italian police conducting foot and horse patrols as pilgrims continue to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations, alongside the usual influx of tourists.
Attendance is expected from global leaders including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kensington Palace confirmed on Tuesday that the Prince of Wales, a future head of the Church of England, will attend on behalf of the King.
On Thursday the pope’s doctor revealed that pontiff died at home ‘without suffering’.
People line up as they enter St Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis lying in state, at the Vatican. Photo: AP
Dr Sergio Alfieri said he found Pope Francis with his eyes open and breathing normally, but unresponsive when he was called to the Vatican on Monday morning.
He oversaw the pope’s five-week hospital treatment for double pneumonia and continued to oversee the pope’s treatment after the pontiff returned to the Vatican on March 23.
Dr Alfieri was alerted at 5.30am on Monday by Francis’s health care assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, that Francis had been stricken and needed to be taken to the hospital.
The doctor told Corriere that he arrived 20 minutes later.
Dr Alfieri said it was too risky moving Francis back to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for a complex respiratory infection that nearly killed him twice.
Two hours after falling ill, the pope died, having suffered a stroke.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived and said the rosary over the body, accompanied by the papal household staff, Dr Alfieri told the Milan daily.
“I gave him a caress, as a farewell,” the doctor said.
