Pope Francis visited the Italian Senate on September 24, to pay his respects to the late Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who was lying in state there.
The occasion marked the first time that a Roman Pontiff had entered the Italian Senate. In another first, Napolitano—who was not a believer—will be the first Italian president not buried after a Catholic funeral.
Once a leader of Italy’s Communist party, Napolitano had been president from 2006 to 2015, and had been personally friendly with both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. He died on September 22 at the age of 98.