President Ruto arrives in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral

President William Ruto has arrived in Rome, Italy, to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

He joins other world leaders and Catholic faithful who have travelled from across the globe to pay their final respects to the late pontiff.

The funeral marks a historic moment for the Catholic Church and the world at large, following the passing of Pope Francis, who led the Church with humility and commitment to social justice.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula is also in Rome to attend the funeral.

Officials expect at least 250,000 members of the public to attend the funeral and there are some 170 heads of state or government on the guest list

There will also be hundreds of members of the clergy, with each group having a specific dress code for the service.

Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, will be buried today in Rome.

He died of a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure, the Vatican has said.

In a statement, the Vatican said the Pope's death was due to a stroke and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.

Last year,  Pope Francis requested that he be buried in a simpler wooden coffin with a zinc interior.

This is the coffin that will be seen in the funeral service and has been on display this week in St Peter's Basilica.

Pope Francis will also be breaking with a 100-year-old tradition when he his buried. He asked to be entombed in the Santa Maria Maggiore instead of the crypt at St Peter’s Basilica.

Pope from Latin America who changed the Catholic Church

His ascension to the papacy heralded many firsts.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1936, he was the eldest of five children. His parents had fled their native Italy to escape the evils of fascism.

Francis was the first Pope from the Americas or the Southern Hemisphere and was also the first Jesuit to be elected to the throne of St Peter - Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.

Many Catholics had assumed the new pontiff would be a younger man - but Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina was already in his seventies when he became Pope in 2013.

At the time, he presented himself as a compromise candidate: appealing to conservatives with orthodox views on sexual matters while attracting the reformers with his liberal stance on social justice.

Throughout his papacy, he was determined to favour humility over pomp and grandeur. He shunned the papal limousine and insisted on sharing the bus taking other cardinals home.

In his sermons, he called for social inclusion and criticised governments that failed to pay attention to the poorest in society.