By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — President Donald Trump will be among more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries attending Saturday’s funeral for Pope Francis, where he’ll personally pay his respects to the Roman Catholic leader who pointedly disagreed with him on a variety of issues.

Trump told reporters he was going to the funeral “out of respect” for the pontiff, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88.

The president and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Rome late Friday for the service at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday morning. Francis will be laid to rest during a private burial at St. Mary Major Basilica outside the Vatican’s walls.

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Francis sharply disagreed with Trump’s approach on issues including immigration, the treatment of migrants and climate change. The Argentine pontiff and the American president sparred early in their relationship over immigration. In 2016, Francis, alluding to then-candidate Trump and his campaign slogan of “Build the wall,” called anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants “ not Christian.” Trump said the comment was “disgraceful.”

But after Francis’ death, the Republican president praised him as a “good man” who “worked hard” and “loved the world.” Trump also directed that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff in Francis’ honor.

Trump had said on a couple of occasions before leaving Washington that he would have “a lot” of meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the funeral. But he seemed to back away from that as he flew to Rome.

“Frankly, it’s a little disrespectful to have meetings when you’re at the funeral of a pope,” the president told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One. Nonetheless, Trump said: “I’ll be talking to people. I’ll be seeing a lot of people.”

The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Hungary and Argentina are among those expected to attend.

One person Trump didn’t expect to interact with is former President Joe Biden, who planned to attend the funeral with his wife, Jill. Trump said he wasn’t aware his Democratic predecessor would be at the funeral. Asked if they’d meet, Trump said: “It’s not high on my list. It’s really not.”

The pope’s funeral will not be one of those occasions that bring together the current and former U.S. presidents. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush are not attending, their offices said. A spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton did not respond to an inquiry about his plans.

Trump didn’t elaborate when asked if he’d just be meeting leaders in passing or holding more in-depth talks. He suggested he might have meetings at Villa Taverna, the U.S. ambassador’s residence, where he spent the night.

“It’s a little tough because we don’t have much time,” Trump said, noting his late arrival in Rome. He was scheduled to head back to the United States immediately after the funeral.

“I think that we’re going to try and see a couple of people that are important in what we’re doing,” said Trump, who is trying to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and negotiate trade agreements with multiple countries.

He posted on Truth Social shortly after arriving in Rome that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high level talks” on ending the bloody three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”

It was unclear if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would make it to Rome for the funeral. Putin is not attending.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is being laid to rest Saturday in a ceremony reflecting his priorities as pope and wishes as pastor: Presidents and princes will attend his funeral in St. Peter’s Square, but prisoners and migrants will usher him into the basilica where he will be buried.

The Associated Press has a livestream from Vatican City, scheduled to start at 2 a.m. ET here:

As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere priest and not “a powerful man of this world,” the Vatican said.

It was a reflection of Francis’ 12-year project to radically reform the papacy, to emphasize its pastors as servants, and to construct “a poor church for the poor.” It was a mission he articulated just days after his 2013 election and explained the name he chose as pope, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the pope’s life that was placed in his coffin Friday night.

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Nevertheless, the powerful will be in attendance Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders are joining Prince William and the Spanish royal family in leading official delegations. Argentine President Javier Milei had the pride of place given Francis’ Argentine nationality, even if the two didn’t particularly get along and Francis alienated many Argentines by never returning home.

Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome’s main train station, where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus. As many as 300,000 people are expected to line the 2.5 mile motorcade route that will bring Francis’ casket from the Vatican through the center of Rome to the basilica after the funeral.

Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia.

By NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is being laid to rest Saturday in a ceremony reflecting his priorities as pope and wishes as pastor: Presidents and princes will attend his funeral in St. Peter’s Square, but prisoners and migrants will usher him into the basilica where he will be buried.

As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere priest and not “a powerful man of this world,” the Vatican said.

It was a reflection of Francis’ 12-year project to radically reform the papacy, to emphasize its pastors as servants, and to construct “a poor church for the poor.” It was a mission he articulated just days after his 2013 election and explained the name he chose as pope, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the pope’s life that was placed in his coffin Friday night.

Nevertheless, the powerful will be in attendance Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders are joining Prince William and the Spanish royal family in leading official delegations. Argentine President Javier Milei had the pride of place given Francis’ Argentine nationality, even if the two didn’t particularly get along and Francis alienated many Argentines by never returning home.

Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome’s main train station, where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus. As many as 300,000 people are expected to line the 2.5 mile motorcade route that will bring Francis’ casket from the Vatican through the center of Rome to the basilica after the funeral.

Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia.

With his funeral, preparations can now begin in earnest to host the centuries-old process of electing a new pope, a conclave that will likely begin in the first week of May. In the interim, the Vatican is being run by a handful of cardinals, key among them Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals who is presiding at the funeral and organizing the secret voting in the Sistine Chapel.

Crowds waited hours in line to pay their respects to Francis

Over three days this week, more than 250,000 people stood for hours in line to pay their final respects while Francis’ body lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican kept the doors open through the night to accommodate them.

“He was an excellent, humble person who changed many laws and always for the better,” said a pilgrim from his native Argentina, Augustin Angelicola, as he waited on line. “Now it is a sad thing for the whole world that all this has happened. We did not expect it, it had to happen but not so soon.”

But even with the expanded hours, it wasn’t enough. When the Vatican closed the doors to the general public at 7 p.m. on Friday, mourners were turned away in droves.

A special relationship with the basilica

Even before he became pope, Francis had a particular affection for St. Mary Major. It is home to a Byzantine-style icon of the Madonna, the Salus Popoli Romani, to which Francis was particularly devoted, such that he would go pray before it before and after each of his foreign trips as pope.

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He decided to have his tomb located in a niche next to the chapel housing the icon, with a reproduction of his simple silver pectoral cross over the marble tombstone.

The choice of the basilica is also symbolically significant given its ties to Francis’ Jesuit religious order. St. Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits, celebrated his first Mass in the basilica on Christmas Day in 1538.

The Vatican said 40 special guests would greet his casket on the piazza in front of the basilica, reflecting the marginalized groups Francis prioritized pope: homeless people and migrants, prisoners and transgender people.

“The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” the Vatican quoted Francis as saying in explaining the choice. The actual burial will be private, presided over by cardinals and a few close aides.

Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police and 1,500 soldiers to provide security, which also includes stationing a torpedo ship off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A team that’s struggled all year to close games, Minnesota found a way to do so when it needed it most Friday in Minneapolis.

Tied 103-103 in the final five minutes of a game in which it could never create separation, Anthony Edwards delivered two minutes of brilliant offense.

First, the guard hit a 3-pointer over a mild contest to put Minnesota back in front. A minute later, he drove to collapse the defense before kicking out to Naz Reid, who buried a triple of his own. Then with Minnesota up five with 2:30 to play, Edwards maneuvered his way through the lane for a layup.

Finally, with Minnesota up six and just more than a minute to play, the guard hit a long jumper to effectively put the game on ice. His mini surge powered the Wolves to a 116-104 victory at Target Center.

Minnesota leads the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

While Edwards was generating buckets, the Lakers were doing nothing of the sort on the other end.

With Luka Doncic battling a stomach flu, LeBron James carried the load for much of the night for Los Angeles. He finished with 38 points but couldn’t put any pressure on the rim down the stretch. Minnesota repeatedly doubled Doncic and James in the closing minutes, leaving Rui Hachimura open.

Hachimura missed a pair of wide open 3-point attempts and turned the ball over.

Edwards finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Minnesota trailed by four at the half, but the Timberwolves had more juice than the Lakers in the third frame, delivering a series of second-effort plays that felt as though they’d turn the tide heavily in Minnesota’s favor and allow the Wolves to build a cushion.

But the Lakers seemingly had a response every time, usually in the form of a triple.

Minnesota led by two heading to the fourth and extended the lead to seven midway through the frame, only to have James bury a couple triples.

Julius Randle was largely excellent for Minnesota. He was aggressive offensively and pushed the pace whenever the opportunity presented itself. That was where Minnesota did much of its damage on a night where it again struggled in the half court for the final three quarters.

Minnesota made five of its first six shots to open the game using an egalitarian approach that benefited from the the attention the Lakers constantly pay to Edwards.

Jaden McDaniels was the primary attacker early. He was excellent throughout, finishing with a team-high 30 points while defending the ill Doncic.

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