Schmid to attend Pope’s funeral
The Swiss president, Samuel Schmid, is to attend the funeral of the late Pope John Paul II, which will take place in Rome on Friday.
It has also been announced that one Swiss cardinal will be taking part in the conclave to elect the Pope’s successor.
Vatican officials said on Monday the funeral of the Pope, who died last Saturday at the age of 84, would take place on Friday morning.
His body will lie in state in St Peter’s Basilica from Monday evening until Friday morning. Officials expect up to two million people to pay their respects.
A government spokesman said on Monday that Schmid would be attending the funeral. The participation of a second cabinet member has not been ruled out, he added.
Flags will be at half-mast on the parliament and government administration buildings on Friday, it has been announced.
The Swiss Bishops’ Conference will also send a delegation to the funeral, but no further details have been given.
The Bishops confirmed that a national memorial service for the Pope will be held on Thursday evening in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Bern.
Swiss cardinal
Cardinal Henri Schwery, the only Swiss church representative to take part in the election of the Pope’s successor, has already arrived in Rome.
He will be among the 117 cardinals from around the world who will meet in 15 to 20 days’ time to elect a new pontiff. The two other Swiss cardinals, Gilberto Agustoni and Georges-Marie Cottier, are both over 80 and therefore too old to participate in the conclave.
In an interview with the Valais-based Nouvelliste newspaper given before he left, the former bishop of Sion said that he had not yet made up his mind about the next pope.
However, he does have a preference for “a pastoral bishop who has lived the realities of the field”.
Pastoral experience
“I must admit that I find it a bit difficult to be on the same wavelength as some members of the priesthood who have made their careers in Rome offices and perhaps lack pastoral experience,” said Schwery.
The only Swiss bishop to have expressed a preference so far is the Bishop of Fribourg, Lausanne and Geneva, Monsignor Bernard Genoud, who told Swiss public radio that he thought the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn, would make a good pope.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Swiss have left messages of condolence for the Pontiff in parishes across the country.
Condolence books have been opened in St Gallen, Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg. Many messages have thanked the Pope for his work, said a spokesman for the diocese of Fribourg, Lausanne, and Geneva.
swissinfo with agencies
There will be around 200 dignitaries attending the Pope’s funeral on Friday, including:
United States: President Bush.
Britain: Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Germany: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
France: President Jacques Chirac.
United Nations: Secretary General Kofi Annan.
European Union: Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The Swiss Guard, responsible for security at the Vatican, is keeping watch over the Pope’s body in St Peter’s Basilica.
The guard is also helping to manage the crowds of people paying their respects.
The hundred-strong army, the world’s smallest, guards the cardinals taking part in the conclave.
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