President Donald Trump's first overseas trip of his second term will be to the Vatican City to pay his respects to Pope Francis following his death on Monday.
The funeral for Francis will be held Saturday at 4 a.m. ET in St. Peter's Square. President Trump will be among more than a dozen world leaders at Francis' funeral. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French leader Emmanuel Macron will also be on hand.
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Previously, President Trump's first overseas trip since his inauguration was scheduled for May to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The White House said President Trump will depart Washington Friday morning and return Saturday evening.
The last funeral of a sitting pope was in 2005 when Pope John Paul II died. President George W. Bush was in attendance, along with first lady Laura Bush and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
Although President Trump expressed his sympathies after Pope Francis' passing, the two have not always seen eye-to-eye.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis sent a letter to Catholic bishops in the United States decrying President Trump's mass deportation plans.
Francis said that he urges Catholics "not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters."
Despite a long-standing friction between Francis and President Trump, Catholic voters overwhelmingly backed the Republican in 2024. According to an NBC News exit poll, Catholics supported Trump by a 59-39 margin over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. In 2020, Catholics slightly favored Joe Biden by a 52-47 margin, exit polling showed.
