The Vatican made an exception to the rules to secure Volodymyr Zelensky a seat at Pope Francisʼ funeral. The Ukrainian president sat in the front row with the US President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron.
This is reported by The Telegraph.
The leaders of the countries were seated according to protocol: according to the name of the country, according to the French alphabet. The thing is that French was the language of diplomacy when this protocol arose.
“Mr. Zelensky might have expected a seat in the 3rd row or even further back. Instead, he was seated in the front row, 11 seats away from Mr. Trump, who was sitting to his right,” the article says.
According to The Telegraph, the Vatican did not object to the Ukrainian president sitting closer. Between him and Trump sat, among others, the leaders of India, Hungary, Gabon, Emmanuel Macron with his wife Brigitte, and the president of Finland Alexander Stubb.
In French, the name of the United States begins with the letter E — États-Unis. To the right of Trump and his wife Melania was the president of Estonia Alar Karis, and King Felipe VI of Spain (after all, Spain in French is Espagne).
To Zelenskyʼs right is the leader of Ireland Michael Higgins. So, the Vaticanʼs arcane rules were indeed broken solely to provide the Ukrainian president with a prominent place, the publication writes.
As for the other participants in the ceremony, protocol was strictly observed: for example, Argentine President Javier Milay was at the very edge of the first row on the right. The Prince of Wales William sat in the 3rd row next to the current Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. Former US President Joe Biden took his place in the 5th row.
The president of Italy Sergio Mattarella, sat in the front row, while Giorgia Meloni, who serves as prime minister, was further back.
- On Saturday, April 26, the Vatican said farewell to Pope Francis. The funeral mass was celebrated in St. Peterʼs Square. For the first time in 100 years, a pontiff was buried outside the Vatican walls, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.
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