Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto will likely send his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to attend Pope Francis’ funeral, according to chief diplomat Sugiono.

The former Catholic church leader passed away from a stroke and a subsequent heart failure at his residence at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta on Monday. He had previously struggled with respiratory ailments. 

World leaders are confirmed to attend the pope’s funeral in Saint Peter’s Square this Saturday, including US President Donald Trump and his Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei. Prabowo is skipping the ceremony due to unspecified reasons, and will delegate an envoy instead. Sugiono told reporters Wednesday that Prabowo already had a list of names of the people who would likely represent Indonesia.

“The president plans to send an envoy instead for the funeral. It is up to the president to decide on [who will go there]. But there are plans to send Mr. Jokowi, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Djiwandono, and Mr. Ignasius Jonan," Sugiono said in Jakarta.

According to Sugiono, the list is still not final yet, meaning that it is still subject to changes. He added: “I believe [Prabowo] will announce the representatives later today. We hope that the delegates will arrive [at Vatican City] before [the funeral].”

The foreign affairs minister did not say why Prabowo had those three people in mind. 

However, Jokowi was still in power when Pope Francis made an apostolic trip to Indonesia last September. Thomas -- a Catholic man and Prabowo’s nephew -- chaired the 2024 National Christmas celebrations. Jonan led the committee in charge of preparing Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia. Jokowi also appointed Jonan as his transportation minister, and eventually energy minister during his first term. In his condolence post on the pope’s death, Jokowi looked back on the 88-year-old pontiff’s Jakarta visit not long ago. He also praised the pope’s consistent calls for peace in Gaza.

“With such warmth, simplicity, and sincerity, [Pope Francis] was a real example of the power of brotherhood amidst differences. He was never tired of calling for peace, … including for the Palestinians,” Jokowi wrote on social media platform X.

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