President Nikos Christodoulides paid homage to the late Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday as world leaders gathered for his funeral.

“The words and actions of Pope Francis have consistently contributed to the effort for understanding and cooperation between states, religions and doctrines,” Christodoulides said in a post on X, adding that the pontiff “was a devotee of peace, dialogue and the coexistence of peoples and cultures”.

On the sidelines of the funeral, Christodoulides held talks with several heads of state and government, religious leaders and officials, deputy spokesman Yiannis Antoniou told the Cyprus News Agency.

Among others, he held talks with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

Christodoulides travelled on Friday evening from Montenegro to Rome ahead of the funeral service that started at 11am Cyprus time.

He was accompanied by Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna, Cyprus Ambassador to the Vatican Giorgos Poullidis, director of the president’s diplomatic office Doros Venezis, and deputy government spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou.

On Sunday, Christodoulides will depart for Madrid and Lisbon, continuing his talks with other states ahead of Cyprus’ EU Presidency in 2026.

He is then expected to travel to Valencia for the European People’s Party Congress and will return to Cyprus next Saturday.