, one of the most prominent attendees at 's funeral, was pictured inside St Peter's Basilica as he paid tribute to Pope Francis ahead of the funeral. The US President, accompanied by his wife , travelled to Italy and the on Friday, hours before the televised funeral was due to begin.

Ahead of his departure from the White House, Mr Trump praised the late pontiff, describing him as a "very good man". He added: "He loved the world, and he was just a good man. I met him twice, I thought he was a fantastic kind of a guy".

On arrival, the US President and First Lady could be seen paying their respects at the foot of the casket, pausing silently for a few moments.

World leaders from across the world are in attendance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky receiving the loudest ovation of any from the thousands of mourners in attendance.

Dressed in a black, buttoned jacket, the wartime leader was greeted by applause and cheers that were not seen for the US President.

Also present in Rome was Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, a practising Catholic and vocal admirer of the late pontiff.

Mr Biden has described the Pope as one of the "most consequential" Popes in modern times, with the pontiff instigating a range of reforms which modernised the Roman Catholic Church.

Such progressive ideas made Pope Francis unpopular in some quarters,, many of whom are vocal supporters of Donald Trump.

In the wake of the death, MAGA acolyte and congresswoman posted that "Evil is being defeated by the hand of God," in an apparent reference to the pontiff's death.

Others within the MAGA world have expressed support for the election of a to become the next Pope, such as Cardinal Robert Sarah of , a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage and gender ideology.

Nick Sortor, a popular MAGA podcast host with 953,000 followers posted on X: "Wow! One of the frontrunners for Pope, Cardinal Robert Sarah, is a hardliner against mass migration."

Fellow MAGA influencer Joey Mannarino, with 613,000 followers, quoted the Cardinal and said: "Make him the next Pope!"

European leaders are keen for Trump to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the margins of the funeral in order to discuss a potential peace plan in Ukraine.

A tight deadline between the service and Trump's scheduled departure could prevent the two from getting the opportunity to discuss the conflict, with the Italian government warning that any diplomatic meeting would be viewed as disrespectful.