World leaders and royals from across the globe gathered in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, the supreme religious leader of the Catholic Church, held at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Saturday, April 26.

Among those present was Professor Muhammad Yunus, serving as the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh's interim government. According to a statement from his press wing, senior Vatican officials welcomed Dr. Yunus at St. Peter’s Basilica, where he paid his final respects by standing in silence beside the late Pope’s body. He then joined leaders from over 130 countries in a two-hour funeral ceremony.

Before and after the ceremony, Dr. Yunus exchanged greetings with numerous global figures, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, former U.S. President Joe Biden, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, and leaders from Kenya, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Ecuador, East Timor, and Honduras. He also met the Presidents of Iceland and Portugal, the King and Queen of Belgium, the Prime Minister of Belgium, Monaco’s Prince Albert, the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway, the Prime Minister of Tunisia, and the Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein. Other notable figures he interacted with included the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, and the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka, Bahrain, and Syria, as well as former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Dr. Yunus was seated in the third row among VIP guests, alongside Prince William and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.