According to Catholic.ge, citing the Vatican Embassy, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, will come to Georgia for the funeral of the Patriarch.

According to the same source, the delegation will also include: Monsignor Ladislav (Jaromir) Hladapka, a staff member of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Apostolic Nuncio and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Georgia, Archbishop Ante Jozić; Counsellor to the Papal Representative in Georgia, Monsignor Alexander Rahinia; Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Catholics of the Caucasus, Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto; and the Ordinary of Armenian Catholics of Eastern Europe in Yerevan, Monsignor Gevorg Noradungyan.

As for Cardinal Kurt Koch, he first visited Georgia at the end of 2014, when he met with the head of the State Agency for Religious Issues, Zaza Vashakmadze, to discuss several important matters related to the Catholic Church, including confessional funding and the construction of a Catholic church in Rustavi. He visited Georgia for a second time in 2016. It was Cardinal Koch who greeted the choir of the Holy Trinity Cathedral when they performed a concert in the Sistine Chapel on June 26, 2022.

For context, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, passed away at the age of 93 on March 17. A period of national mourning has been declared in Georgia, and he will be buried on March 22 at Sioni Cathedral.