Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88, after suffering a cerebral stroke that left him in a coma and led to irreversible heart failure. The pope was also battling complications due to double pneumonia, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. In accordance with a revised papal funeral protocol he approved in 2014, Francis will become the first pope in 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican. The news of his demise was announced in a video statement by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who said, “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,” on the Vatican’s TV channel.
He added, “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalised. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune.”
But who is Cardinal Kevin Farrell?
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is currently Camerlengo – meaning the person who oversees the operations of the Vatican during Apostolica Sedes Vacans – period between the death or resignation of a pope until the next one is elected by a closed-door voting process held in the Sistine Chapel. While he manages daily affairs during this time, he is not permitted to make any major decisions.
Born in Dublin in 1947, Farrell pursued religious studies at the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He joined the Legionaries of Christ in 1966 and was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Washington in 1984. In 2001, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington by Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Farrell has served in various roles across the globe. He was a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Mexico and also served in a parish in Bethesda, Maryland.
The 77-year-old was appointed the Bishop of Dallas in 2007 and in 2016, Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of cardinal while appointing him head of the newly created Vatican department focused on family pastoral care.
In 2023, Pope Francis named him Camerlengo and the president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City State. He was also named president of the Commission for Confidential Matters of the Vatican.
He has spent more than three decades working for the churches in the United States.
Cardinal Farrell will oversee all the preparations to convene a papal conclave, where the College of Cardinals will gather to elect the next head of the Catholic Church. He is also eligible to be elected as pope himself.
Only two camerlengos have been elected pope in history. One in 1878 when Gioacchino Pecci became Pope Leo XIII, and in 1939 when Eugenio Pacelli became Pope Pius XII.
Cardinal Farrell will also preside over the official confirmation of Pope Francis’s death. He will place Francis’ body into the coffin and lead the procession that transfers the body from the chapel at Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica. The timing of the procession will be determined by the College of Cardinals, comprising 252 members, of whom 135 are under 80 and can vote to elect a new pope.
He will also carry out the tradition of sealing the pope’s private residence, in this case, the second floor of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse designed to accommodate cardinals during a conclave.
Cardinal Farrell is the younger brother of Bishop Brian Farrell, who was the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 2002 to 2024.