Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller told reporters on Tuesday that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki would join President Andrzej Duda in paying respects to the late former pontiff during funeral ceremonies at the Vatican.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on New Year's Eve at the age of 95. He will be laid to rest in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Thursday in a funeral led by Pope Francis.
The Polish president and prime minister have shared messages to pay tribute to the deceased pope.
After the Vatican announced Benedict’s passing on December 31, the Polish head of state said in a tweet that Benedict was "one of the pre-eminent theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries."
Duda added that Benedict's "life, works and priestly service are a signpost among the many winding and deceptive roads of the contemporary world."
Duda’s top foreign policy aide, Jakub Kumoch, told reporters at the time that the Polish president "plans to attend the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whom he regards as a prominent moral authority and one of the outstanding churchmen of our time.”
Meanwhile, the Polish prime minister said in a social media post that Benedict had worked closely with his predecessor, the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II, and had a "special" affinity to Poland.
The Polish prime minister also said that "the spiritual and intellectual legacy of Benedict XVI will remain important to us forever.”
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Source: IAR, PAP