WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were in front row seats among the dignitaries at the funeral of Pope Francis. 

The location is notable because there had been several reports leading up to Saturday’s ceremony that indicated the U.S. president may be seated a few rows back because of Vatican protocols. 

The protocol has visiting dignitaries seated in their group in alphabetical order based on their country’s name in French.

The heads of state of Italy and the pope’s native Argentina were first, followed by countries in alphabetical order. That meant Trump, the president of the United States (les États-Unis in French), was seated between the leaders of Finland and Estonia, and just down from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was greeted with a burst of applause from the audience when he arrived, was also seated in the front row but several seats away from Trump. The two met briefly before the service, both the White House and Zelenskyy’s office confirmed.

Trump, meanwhile, also drew the public’s attention for wearing a dark blue suit and a lighter blue tie in a sea mostly of mournful black attire.

While the majority of dignitaries in the first couple of rows were wearing black, wide shots of the larger group showed several others chose to wear blue suits as well, including Britain’s Prince William. 

Former President Joe Biden, a practicing Roman Catholic who attended with his wife, Jill Biden, wearing his signature aviator sunglasses was seated several rows behind Trump.

Melania Trump in 2017 became the first Catholic first lady in the White House since Jacqueline Kennedy, CNN and multiple other outlets reported at the time. 

After meeting Pope Francis in May 2017, Melania said it was a visit she would “never forget.”

Saturday also happened to coincide with Melania’s 55th birthday and multiple sources told PEOPLE she was “honored” to be attending the pontiff’s funeral, regardless of the timing.