A remarkable collection of world leaders and royalty rubbed shoulders today at John Paul's funeral, with only an alphabetical seating plan to divide heads of state whose relations could be frosty or even non-existent.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was just two places away from the Prince of Wales. Mr Mugabe side-stepped a EU travel ban - which does not apply to the Vatican - to attend the funeral.
US President George Bush and French President Jacques Chirac - divided over the US-led war in Iraq - were separated only by their wives as they sat in the second row to the right of the altar in front of St Peter's Basilica.
Further down the same row, sitting beside President Mary McAleese, was Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who greeted Syrian President Bashar Assad before taking his seat. Washington has tense relations with Syria and none with Iran.
More than 100 official delegations attended the funeral, one of the largest religious gatherings of modern times.
The seating plan was drawn up using French, the traditional language of diplomacy. Just making it onto the front row was King Juan Carlos of Spain - Espagne - ahead of the president of the United States - Etas-Unis - in the second. Before the service, leaders filed out from between the crimson curtains framing the giant bronze doors of St Peter's.
They shook hands with a prelate, paused to exchange greetings, then took their seats. The gathering made for a rare display of religious plurality: scarlet-robbed Roman Catholic cardinals, black-clad Orthodox clerics, Arab head scarves, Jewish skull caps, Central Asian lambskin hats, and black veils worn by some women.
Mr Bush was one of the last to file out of the Basilica to take his place, walking with his wife Laura and ahead of his father, former president George Bush, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
China refused to send a delegation to the funeral because of the Vatican's diplomatic relations with rival Taiwan, whose president, Chen Shui-bian, took advantage of a rare chance to meet other leaders at an international event.