List of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope John Paul II
Country Official delegation Title
Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende Prime Minister of the Netherlands
New Zealand Dame Silvia Cartwright Peter Cartwright Governor-General of New Zealand Spouse of the Governor General
Nicaragua Enrique Bolaños Norman José Caldera Cardenal Armando Luna José Cuadra President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador to the Holy See Ambassador to Italy
Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo President
Norway Queen Sonja Kjell Magne Bondevik Queen Consort Prime Minister of Norway
List of official delegations ( in alphabetical order , incomplete ) -- N
This is a list of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. After the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005 in Vatican City, and before official invitations were sent by the College of Cardinals, almost 200 countries expressed interest in sending representatives to the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The funeral took place on April 8, 2005, and was one of the largest gathering of statesmen and world leaders in history until the 2013 state funeral of Nelson Mandela. Some of the dignitaries later attended the installation of Pope Benedict XVI on April 24, 2005. In order to accommodate all interested parties wishing to receive a seat during the Mass of Requiem, the Holy See limited the number of members in each official diplomatic delegation to five people, except for the Polish delegation which, being John Paul II's homeland, was allowed ten people, and the delegation from Italy. The limit did not exclude other people of any nationality from attaining individual invitations, unrelated to the individual's country's delegation: for example, the attendance of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, had no connection with the Brazilian delegation. In addition to a country's official delegation, any number of government officials were permitted to attend as pilgrim travellers, remaining outside the basilica during the Mass of Requiem with the general public. For example, the United States delegation included the president and first lady, two former presidents, and the secretary of state, and they all had seats in the basilica during the Mass of Requiem. Dozens of members of the Congress of the United States attended the Mass of Requiem, congregating among the general public outside the basilica. At the funeral, the dignitaries were seated alphabetically according to the French spelling of their country's name and arranged according to diplomatic protocol. 10 royalty leaders, 80 past and present heads of state, 75 governmental leaders and numerous dignitaries from 18 multilateral organizations, 15 religious movements and 112 countries attended this Mass.