Washington, 22 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump on Monday said he and his wife Melania plan to travel to Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, in what would be his first trip abroad since taking office in January.

"Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "We look forward to being there!"

Pope Francis died on Monday morning aged 88 after suffering a stroke and subsequent heart failure, according to the Vatican.

The pontiff, who led the Catholic Church for 12 years, has opted to be buried outside the Vatican's walls, at Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, after initiating new rules for a more modest funeral ceremony before his death.

His funeral will nevertheless be a global event, with heads of state and government from around the world expected to attend.

Cardinals are due to meet in the Vatican on Tuesday to discuss the funeral arrangements, with the burial usually taking place four to six days after death.

Just hours before his death, Francis briefly met with Trump's deputy, Vice President JD Vance, on Sunday, who has made a number of trips abroad since the new administration took office.

For Trump, however, it would be the first foreign trip since returning to the White House on January 20.

It was initially unclear whether Trump would only travel to Italy to attend the funeral, or also visit other locations.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni invited Trump to Rome when she visited the White House last week, saying he had accepted.

Trump had originally planned to travel to Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip.

At the beginning of March, he said new US presidents typically visit London after taking office, but suggested he might go to Saudi Arabia instead after the country paid billions of dollars for a state visit during his first term.

"Last time I went to Saudi Arabia. They put up $450 billion," Trump said at the time.

"This time I said I will go if you put up a trillion dollars to American companies," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia had agreed.

Ties with Saudi Arabia, a long-term ally of the United States, cooled during the Biden administration, with the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul straining relations.

Following his re-election, Trump attended the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in January, in what was seen as his unofficial return to the world stage ahead of his inauguration.

Photo: ABC screenshot