BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and first lady Neemat Aoun arrived in Rome on Friday to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, the Lebanese presidency's press office said. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City.

The presidency said Aoun and his wife landed at Italy’s Ciampino air base, which is primarily used for military purposes and often receives foreign heads of state. The couple then went to St. Peter’s Basilica, where they paid their respects before the pope’s coffin.

"My presence here today as the president of the Lebanese Republic is not only to offer my condolences for the death of Pope Francis, but also to reaffirm Lebanon's spiritual and missionary role in the world," said Aoun. "We are here to say that Lebanon, despite all its wounds, will remain a model of unity in diversity and a beacon of the human values that the pope carried and defended, clinging to timeless values, for a world more just and full of mercy."

Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Youssef al-Absi, also left Beirut for the Vatican to participate in the funeral, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Before his departure, he called Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai to inquire about his health and wish him a speedy recovery. Patriarch Rai, 85, fractured his hip during Easter Mass on Sunday and later underwent surgery.

Earlier, the Vatican announced that around 130 foreign delegations, including around 50 heads of state and a dozen monarchs, have confirmed their attendance at the funeral. U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are among those expected to attend, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Earlier, the Vatican announced that about 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs have so far confirmed their attendance at the funeral of Pope Francis, scheduled for Saturday in St. Peter's Square in Rome.

“So far, 130 foreign delegations have been confirmed to attend the funeral of Pope Francis,” the Vatican said. At the forefront of the participants are U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to AFP.

More than 100,000 people had come to visit the coffin of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where people continue to arrive, two days before his funeral in the presence of many world leaders.

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and first South American pontiff, died Monday morning at the Vatican at age 88, the Holy See announced, bringing an end to a transformative and turbulent papacy that challenged tradition and pushed the Catholic Church toward social engagement and the world’s margins.

Condolences in Harissa

In Lebanon, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, continued for a third consecutive day on Friday to receive political and religious figures offering condolences in Harissa (Kesrouan) over Pope Francis’ death.

"With the departure of Pope Francis, Lebanon loses a strong supporter and the world loses a man of love and peace ... He was always close to Lebanon, he prayed for it and dreamed of visiting it," Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote in the register of condolences. Salam then went to Bkirki to visit Patriarch Rai.

MP Marwan Hamadeh also offered condolences in Harissa on behalf of Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Taymour Joumblatt and party members. Other officials present included MP Nehmat Frem, former President Michel Sleiman, and a delegation of Maronite Patriarchate priests conveying Patriarch Rai’s condolences.

Among other attendees were Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi, Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, the ambassadors of Brazil, Russia, Romania and Greece and the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d'affaires.

Former ministers Damien Khattar and Jean-Louis Cardahi also visited the Apostolic Nunciature, along with General Antoine Kahwagi, head of Army Intelligence; Joseph Kossaifi, president of the Order of Editors; Grand Serail Protocol Director Lahoud Lahoud; a delegation from the Maronite League; Rabab Sadr and her son Raed Charafeddine; and several delegations of various religious orders.