Pope Francis' funeral promises to be a significant event marked by extensive Roman Catholic tradition, attended by numerous foreign dignitaries, including leaders from adversarial nations. The Vatican's seating protocol, based on the alphabetical order of countries in French, aims to mitigate potential diplomatic awkwardness among guests. Notably, members like Ukraine's president and a Russian minister will be present together. Unique seating arrangements have produced notable pairings in the past, but tensions could arise again as high-profile leaders navigate the ceremonial setting.
At Francis' open-air funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square, members of foreign delegations are divided into groups, like monarchs and heads of government, and will be seated in their group in alphabetical order based on their country's name in French.
For the Vatican, all countries are equal before the alphabet. But that doesn't mean there's no chance of awkward moments.
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