Polish president, Walesa to attend pope's funeral

VATICAN CITY - Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Lech Walesa, the Solidarity founder who with the help of Pope John Paul II brought down communism in Poland, will attend the Polish-born pontiff's funeral this week, embassy officials here said Monday.
The prime minister of Poland, Marek Belka, along with the speakers of the two houses of parliament are also due to attend the ceremony in which some 200 state and religious leaders will pay their last respects to the pope, a Polish embassy official told AFP.
Thousands of Polish pilgrims are arriving in Rome for the funeral, which is expected to be held Thursday or Friday in Saint Peter's Basilica. The embassy official said it was impossible to estimate how many Poles would attend the ceremony.
John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyla in a small town near Krakow, was the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century.

04/04/2005 09:11 GMT