Vatican City: Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See's Secretariat of State, representing Pope Francis, will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II today.
The funeral will be attended by more than 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday. In addition to members of the royal family and former British prime ministers – as well as the current one, Liz Truss.
As British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II was also the titular head of the Church of England, which separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th century.
Archbishop Gallagher, 68, is the Pontiff’s “minister of foreign affairs” as well as one of the most senior British officials in the Roman Curia. He was ordained a priest of Liverpool in 1977 and joined Vatican diplomatic services seven years later.
Heads of state from many countries, including France, the United States and Italy, will be present. The Emperor of Japan, the sovereigns of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Monaco, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Serbia, Tonga, Bhutan, Malaysia as well as the Sultans of Oman and Brunei have announced their presence.
Gallagher, 68, is a British national. He was born in Liverpool and attended St. Francis Xavier High School there. In recent days, Archbishop Gallagher was part of the delegation accompanying Pope Francis to Kazakhstan.
He has served in the Holy See’s diplomatic service since 1984. His long diplomatic career includes service as apostolic nuncio to Australia, a Commonwealth country, from 2012 to 2014.
Gallagher’s role follows the outpouring of sympathy and messages from the pope and other Catholic bishops.
Pope Francis said in a telegram he was “deeply saddened” to learn of Queen Elizabeth’s death. He offered condolences to the new monarch, King Charles III, the royal family, and the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Pope Francis’ message of condolence continued: “I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late Queen’s eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the Nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises.”