An Irish-born American cardinal is entrusted as the 'camerlengo,' running the Holy See between popes

VATICAN CITY – Cardinal Kevin Farrell remembers the time Pope Francis asked him to beryllium the camerlengo, the Vatican authoritative who runs the Holy See aft the death of 1 pope and earlier the predetermination of another. They were flying backmost to Rome from the 2019 World Youth Day successful Panama, and Francis popped the question successful concern class.

Farrell, 77, had been successful Rome lone a fewer years, summoned retired of the blue from his occupation arsenic bishop of Dallas, Texas, to reorganize the Vatican’s laity office, a cardinal portion of Francis’ reforms. Three years into the job, Francis asked him to instrumentality connected different relation that is steeped successful story and enigma but besides has real-world responsibilities: managing the Vatican arsenic “camerlengo” — oregon chamberlain — during the often traumatic “interregnum” betwixt papacies and helping to signifier the conclave to elite the adjacent pontiff.

“I said to him I would judge the presumption but connected 1 condition,” Farrell recalled successful a 2022 interview, smiling arsenic helium remembered their airborne conversation. The information was that the pope would person to preach astatine Farrell’s ain funeral, reflecting Farrell's anticipation that helium would dice earlier Francis and ne'er person to enactment arsenic a camerlengo.

The gag was twofold: Farrell didn’t peculiarly privation the dense responsibility. But much personally, helium didn’t privation to entertain the anticipation of outliving Francis, whom helium credited with having acceptable the Catholic Church connected a important way of renewal, redirecting it distant from civilization warfare defensiveness and backmost to its Gospel-driven essence of inclusion.

“We were defending ourselves always: Self-preservation was the taxable of the church,” Farrell said. “And Pope Francis moved america beyond self-preservation” to a connection of invited and accompaniment.

The camerlengo’s role

With Francis' death, though, Farrell is successful the spotlight, albeit lone until a caller pope is elected. Farrell connected Monday greeting announced the decease from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta edifice wherever Francis lived and died. In a abbreviated connection work unrecorded connected Vatican television, helium said Francis' “entire beingness was dedicated to the work of the Lord and of his church.”

According to tradition, the camerlengo certifies the pope’s death, seals the papal flat and breaks the pope’s fisherman’s ring, arsenic a awesome of a vacancy astatine the Holy See. He leads the procession accompanying the coffin into St. Peter’s Basilica and presides implicit the burial.

The camerlengo besides gets written reports from Vatican offices astir their existent assets; a transcript of the existent and projected fund for the Holy See; and immoderate different accusation from the Vatican’s economical ministry that would beryllium utile for cardinals and the aboriginal pope. He and the dean of the College of Cardinals, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, past play cardinal roles organizing the meetings of cardinals preceding the conclave.

Farrell, a no-nonsense Irish-born American, said the fiscal duties are acold much important than the ceremonial ones and the ones for which helium is much qualified. Farrell already heads apical Vatican committees connected finances, investments and confidential matters, arsenic good arsenic its ultimate court, making him peculiarly well-suited to present a fiscal prospectus to the caller pope.

From Ireland to the U.S.

The antheral Francis chose to span his papacy was calved successful Dublin connected Sept. 2, 1947. He entered the Legionaries of Christ spiritual bid successful 1966 and was ordained a clergyman for the Mexican-based bid successful 1978. He near six years aboriginal — agelong earlier revelations that its founder was a pedophile who sexually abused his young seminarians — and became a diocesan clergyman successful the Washington Archdiocese.

He worked successful a bid of parishes but besides took connected expanding complaint of the books successful the archdiocese — helium has a keen caput for finances but says helium ne'er finished his MBA. He became auxiliary bishop of Washington successful 2001 and served nether the ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick earlier being made bishop of Dallas successful 2007.

Farrell has said repeatedly that during his years successful Washington, helium ne'er heard the rumors that McCarrick had behaved inappropriately with seminarians, sleeping with them successful his furniture portion helium was a bishop successful New Jersey. McCarrick, who died earlier this month, was defrocked aft a Vatican probe successful 2019 recovered helium sexually abused children arsenic good arsenic adults.

Farrell said helium was blessed and “very comfortable” arsenic bishop successful Dallas erstwhile his caput came to him successful May 2016 to archer him the pope was connected the phone.

“And I said ‘the pope’s not connected the phone. Popes don’t usage telephones,’” Farrell said, assuming different bishop was playing a prank. “And truthful I picked up the phone. I was astir to archer him wherever to go,” erstwhile each of a abrupt the dependable connected the enactment said softly successful Spanish: “Soy Francisco” — “This is Francis.”

The 2 had ne'er met, but Francis knew Farrell spoke Spanish fluently, fixed his years successful the Mexican-based Legion.

A Vatican assignment

Francis besides knew that Farrell had made it a argumentation successful some Washington and Dallas to enactment qualified laic experts, alternatively than priests, successful positions of authorization successful moving the dioceses.

Farrell said Francis asked him to bash the aforesaid with the Holy See’s laity office, which the pontiff wanted to rebuild by merging it with the Vatican’s household and beingness departments and service arsenic a exemplary of lay-led governance of religion management.

“I was trying to travel up with each crushed wherefore I should not bash it. And helium said, ‘Well, you deliberation astir it for 3 days and I’ll telephone you back,’” Farrell recalled. “Three days later, astatine the aforesaid time, I get a telephone telephone and past I gave him each my reasons that I had formulated. And helium said, ‘Well, wherefore don’t you travel connected implicit and speech to me?’”

“Well, that was the end,” Farrell said.

He moved to Rome successful October 2016 to caput the laity office. Within hours of his arrival, Francis announced that Farrell would beryllium made a cardinal.

It was a sign, aboriginal confirmed with his information arsenic camerlengo, that Francis afloat intended to entrust Farrell with immoderate of the astir important responsibilities of the church, including aft helium was gone.

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