Cardinal Kevin Farrell performed one of the most solemn acts in his position as cardinal chamberlain, or camerlengo in Italian, of the Roman Catholic Church, when he announced to the world that Pope Francis had died.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” said Cardinal Farrell, an Irish American who, as camerlengo, will run the ordinary affairs of the Vatican until a new pope is chosen. “His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,” he said, as bells began to toll in churches across Rome.
The camerlengo is in charge of day-to-day operations during the “Apostolica Sede Vacans,” the period between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of the next pontiff, though he cannot make any major decisions affecting the Church during this time.
The Vatican announced that on Monday evening, Cardinal Farrell will preside over the ritual of certification of Francis’ death and lay his body in the coffin in the chapel of the Vatican guesthouse where the pontiff resided. The cardinal will be joined by other Vatican officials, including Vatican medical staff and members of Francis’ family.
The pope’s body will remain in the chapel until the College of Cardinals decides on the day and hour that he will be brought to St. Peter’s Basilica, in a procession led by Cardinal Farrell. The Vatican announced Monday that this could take place as soon as Wednesday morning, depending on what the College of Cardinals decides. The college includes the 252 cardinals of the Catholic church, of whom 135 are under 80 and can vote to elect a new pope. There will be a public viewing until Francis’ funeral and burial, which are supposed to take place four to six days after his death.
Cardinal Farrell, as camerlengo, will also lock and seal the pope’s residence, which in the case of Francis consisted of much of the second floor of the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse originally built to house out- of-town cardinals during a conclave.
The Irish born Cardinal Farrell, 77, spent more than 30 years working in the United States. He was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington between 2002 and 2007 and bishop of Dallas from 2007 to 2017. He left the United States in 2016 when Pope Francis called him to Rome as prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, a department in the Roman Curia, as the central administration of the church is known. Three years later, Francis named him camerlengo, one of the highest positions in the church, though it is mostly ceremonial. And in 2023 Francis named him president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City State.
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.
Elisabetta Povoledo is a Times reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years.
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