Bush to lead U.S. papal mass delegation

WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- President George Bush and his wife, Laura, will lead the official U.S. delegation to Pope John Paul II's Apr. 8 funeral mass, the White House said Tuesday.

Also in the delegation will be Bush's father, former U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush; former President Bill Clinton; and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Bush's trip is the first by a U.S. president to a papal funeral. Relations between the United States and the Vatican reached an all-time high during John Paul II's papacy, beginning with the pope's visit to the Carter White House in 1979 and leading to the establishment of official diplomatic relations early during Ronald Reagan's first term.