<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The King and Queen will travel to Vatican City to attend the Mass for the inauguration of Leo XIV's papacy in St. Peter's Square, which will take place this coming Sunday, May 18, according to the Royal Household.</strong></h4> However, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will not attend the Mass for the inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of Bishop Leo XIV of Rome (the official name of the ceremony) because it coincides with his trip to Baghdad (Iraq) to attend the Arab League Summit, which will take place the day before. Sánchez, who will arrive in the Iraqi capital from Tirana (Albania), where he will participate in the European Political Community Summit on Friday, is the only European leader invited to the Arab League meeting, which will primarily address the situations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. The Prime Minister also did not attend the Funeral Mass for Pope Francis on April 26th, which took place in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The King and Queen were accompanied by the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero; the Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz; the Minister of the Presidency, Parliamentary Relations, and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños; and the leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Government sources cited by news agencies have reported that the King and Queen could again be accompanied in Rome by María Jesús Montero, as the minister of the day. At the last Mass to inaugurate the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome, celebrated in March 2013 on the occasion of the new papacy of Francis, Spain was also represented by King Felipe and Queen Letizia, although in that case as the Prince and Princess of Asturias. Also in attendance were then-President Mariano Rajoy, and the then-Ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo, Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz, and Justice, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, among other members of the government.
