Jimmy Carter, former US president, dies aged 100 as Trump leads tributes: Latest

Pope Francis was “saddened to learn” of Jimmy Carter’s passing and has offered his “hearfelt condoelsences” and prayers to those mourning his loss, the Vatican said on Monday.

According to a statement from the Cardinal Secretary of State of Vatican City, Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis offered “heartfelt condolences” while recalling Carter’s “firm commitment, motivated by deep Christian faith, to the cause of reconciliation and peace between peoples, the defence of human rights and the welfare of the poor and those in need”.

Parolin added: “The Holy Father commends him to the infinite mercies of Almighty God and prays for the consolation of all who mourn his loss.”

The last time a Democratic president died was in 1973 when Lyndon Baines Johnson passed away at the age of 64, just a few years after leaving office.

Following the death of Jimmy Carter on Sunday at the age of 100, the nation will now see the first funeral for a Democratic president in more than 50 years. Carter is the longest-living president, who also had the longest post-presidency after leaving office at the age of 56 in 1980.

Since the death of Johnson, there have been four state funerals for former presidents – Johnson’s in 1973, Ronald Reagan’s in 2004, Gerald Ford’s in 2007 and George HW Bush’s most recently in 2018.

Gustaf Kilander has the full story.

Jimmy Carter’s funeral will be held at Washington National Cathedral on January 9, according to organizers.

President Joe Biden will read a eulogy at the ceremony, those orchestrating the funeral logistics told The New York Times on Monday.

It will mark part of an eight-day plan of ceremonies and honors, which will not commence until later this week due to the New Year’s holiday.

Carter will be brought to the Carter Center in Atlanta on Saturday and Sunday by motorcade to lie in repose at the home of his post-presidential humanitarian work.

The former president’s body will be flown to Washington, DC, on Monday where he will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda, according to organizers.

The memorial journey will end at his house in the tiny town of Plains, Georgia – where he grew up on a peanut farm – and will be laid to rest.

Initial plans once called for him to be transported by train but, according to The Times, Carter objected to a staffer: “If you take my cold, dead body across the U.S. by train, I’ll haunt you until the day you die.”

President Joe Biden has marked January 9, 2025, as a National Day of Mourning in honor of Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday aged 100.

In a statement late on Sunday evening, Biden called on US citizens to assemble “in their respective places of worship” to pay homage to the former president.

The president has also scheduled a state funeral in Washington, DC, for Carter on January 9.

Previously, federal offices and stock markets have been closed during national days of mourning – including for former presidents Gerald Ford in 2006 and George H. W. Bush in 2018.

The president also declared that flags will be displayed at half-staff for 30 days from the day of Carter’s death at the White House, on public buildings and grounds, at military posts and naval stations.

The former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined a chorus of political heavyweights in lamenting over the loss of Jimmy Carter.

“He is, and will be, mourned in every country and continent where civil liberties are valued and peace has proved elusive; revered as the leader who stood with all those who faced imprisonment, torture or persecution for defending democracy and human rights,” Brown wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian on Monday morning.

“Carter gave oppressed people hope. I was proud to learn from him and to count him and his wonderful wife, Rosalynn – who was also his closest adviser – as friends.”