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Seating plan details for Pope Francis’ funeral revealed with President Trump to be moved to ‘third-tier’ row

Pope Francis’ funeral will take place this Saturday in Rome, and many world leaders from around the world are expected to attend. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump won’t be sitting in the front rows.

Even though Trump was one of the first to say he would attend, Vatican rules suggest he will be seated in a third-tier row, far from the front. According to tradition, archbishops, bishops, cardinals, and other high-ranking Church officials will sit opposite foreign leaders. Trump might not even be placed in the second row.

The funeral will bring together around 130 country delegations, including 50 heads of state and 10 royal families. It is expected to be the largest gathering of world leaders since Trump’s own inauguration in January 2017.

Trump was not happy with the seating arrangement. He joked that this would be a good time for him to meet leaders from some developing countries and added that things would be different if he were still president. “In real estate, like in politics and life, location is everything,” he said.

Catherine Pepinster, a writer and former editor of The Tablet, noted that such seating plans can be tricky. Because the Vatican has ties with countries like Russia and Iran, leaders who usually avoid each other might end up sitting nearby or meeting during the event.

The Vatican is known for following strict traditions, and this ceremony is expected to be no different.

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