The official news of Pope Francis’s passing on Easter Monday morning came from Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Irish-born Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church who was once archbishop of Washington, DC, the first of a sequence of pre-ordained events that will begin with the veneration of Pope Francis and end with the election of his successor.
Here is Cardinal Farrell on the death of Pope Francis:
“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 house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church.”
Before announcing the death to the world, Farrell had some very specific duties to carry out; after trying and failing to rouse the pope, Farrell will have overseen the destruction of the pope’s signet ring,…
