PROSPECT HEIGHTS — At 9:45 a.m. on April 21, American Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis from the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, where the late Holy Father resided for the duration of his 12-year papacy.
Cardinal Farrell didn’t do so by chance.
Announcing the pope’s death is part of the duties of the camerlengo, who essentially serves as the administrative leader of the Holy Roman Church and presides over the conclave until the next pope is chosen.
Per tradition, the specific duties of the camerlengo, which translates to “chamberlain,” include certifying the pope’s death, sealing the papal apartment, and breaking the pope’s fisherman’s ring — an action that symbolizes the vacancy of the Holy See. The camerlengo also leads the procession accompanying the coffin into St. Peter’s Basilica and presides over the burial.
On a more practical level, the role is responsible for compiling the details of the Vatican’s finances for the cardinals, and subsequently, for the future leader of the global Church. Furthermore, the camerlengo organizes the meetings of the cardinals ahead of the official start of the conclave, which is scheduled for May 7.
Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Farrell to the role in February 2019.
“I was shocked. I was surprised,” Cardinal Farrell joked at the time. “I told the Holy Father that, ‘Yeah, I’d accept, but on one condition — that he speak at my funeral.’
“So what can I say? To be quite honest with you, I have never thought of anything like this.”
Cardinal Farrell, 77, was born in Dublin, Ireland.
After attending university in Rome and Spain, he was ordained a priest on Dec. 24, 1978. His first appointment was chaplain of the Regnum Christi evangelization movement at the University of Monterrey in Mexico.
In 1983, he came stateside to minister in the parish of St. Bartholomew in Bethesda, Maryland, and was incardinated in the Archdiocese of Washington a year later. He would remain in the United States until 2016 and would later become a naturalized citizen.
From 1984 to 2002, he held various parish roles in the Archdiocese of Washington. In 2002, he was made an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese. Then, in 2007, he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Dallas.
Cardinal Farrell held that role until Aug. 15, 2016, when Pope Francis called him to serve in the Roman Curia as prefect of the newly created Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. The Holy Father elevated him to cardinal later that year.
As a man who wears many hats, in addition to his role leading the dicastery and being camerlengo, Cardinal Farrell is the president of the Commission for Confidential Matters and the president of the Vatican City State Supreme Court.
He is also a member of the Dicasteries for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, for Legislative Texts, for Evangelization, Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.
All others aside, Cardinal Farrell’s role as camerlengo is presently the most significant and will attract the most attention until a new pope is elected.
While carrying out his responsibilities at 9:45 a.m. on April 21, he said the following: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the father’s house. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his Church.”
“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized. 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 Triune.”