Pope Francis

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‘A man of the Church’: Cardinal George Pell’s funeral celebrated at Vatican

January 14, 2023 Catholic News Agency 3
Cardinal George Pell’s coffin in front of some of the cardinals who concelebrated his funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023 / Alan Koppschall/CNA

Vatican City, Jan 14, 2023 / 07:50 am (CNA).

Catholics traveled from near and far to attend the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.

The Australian cardinal died in Rome Jan. 10 from a cardiac arrest following a hip surgery. He was 81.

His Jan. 14 funeral, held at the Altar of the Chair, was filled to capacity, with extra chairs added at the last minute to accommodate people standing as far back as the Vatican basilica’s main altar.

Cardinal George Pell's funeral in St. Peter's Basilica on Jan. 14, 2023. Vatican Media
Cardinal George Pell’s funeral in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 14, 2023. Vatican Media

“A man of God and a man of the Church, he was characterized by a deep faith and great steadfastness of doctrine, which he always defended without hesitation and with courage, concerned only with being faithful to Christ,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said about Pell in his homily for the funeral.

“As he noted many times, the weakening of faith in the Western world and the moral crisis of the family grieved him,” Re said. “To God, who is good and rich in mercy, we entrust this brother of ours, praying that God will welcome him into the peace and intimacy of his love.”

Pell’s brother, David Pell, and cousin Chris Meney, together with other family members, priests, and religious, traveled from Australia to be at the funeral.

Michael Casey, Pell’s former secretary who now works at the Australian Catholic University, was also in attendance.

From Rome, Holy See diplomats, students, and priests, also came to pray for Pell’s repose. Seminarians of the Pontifical North American College attended the funeral Mass immediately following their audience with Pope Francis the same morning.

American author George Weigel, a longtime friend of Cardinal Pell, traveled from the United States for the funeral.

The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the deacon of the College of Cardinals, and concelebrated by cardinals and bishops.

Pell’s private secretary during his years in Rome, Father Joseph Hamilton, and archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, also concelebrated.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein concelebrates the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
Archbishop Georg Gänswein concelebrates the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA

Pope Francis arrived at the end of the Mass to perform the rite of final commendation and farewell, as is his custom for the funeral of a cardinal.

“May God unite his soul with those of all the saints and faithful departed,” the pope prayed. “May he be given a merciful judgement so that, redeemed from death, freed from punishment, reconciled to the Father, carried in the arms of the Good Shepherd, he may deserve to enter fully into everlasting happiness in the company of the eternal King together with all the saints.”

Pope Francis presided over the Final Commendation and Farewell at the end of Cardinal George Pell's funeral on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
Pope Francis presided over the Final Commendation and Farewell at the end of Cardinal George Pell’s funeral on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA

Francis sprinkled holy water. A priest incensed the coffin as the choir and congregation sang the Marian antiphon Sub Tuum Praesidium.

Applause broke out as Pell’s coffin was carried from St. Peter’s Basilica.

The cardinal will be buried in his former cathedral, St. Mary’s, in Sydney, Australia.

The day before his funeral, a visitation was held for Pell in the Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini inside the Vatican.

A visitation was held for Cardinal George Pell in the Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini inside the Vatican on Jan. 13, 2023.
A visitation was held for Cardinal George Pell in the Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini inside the Vatican on Jan. 13, 2023.

The Gospel for Cardinal Pell’s funeral Mass was from Luke 12, about the vigilant and faithful servants: “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival,” Luke 12:37 says.

The Responsorial Psalm was from Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

In his homily, Re remarked on Pell’s unexpected death, and on his recent attendance at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

A Swiss Guard genuflects during the consecration at Cardinal George Pell's funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
A Swiss Guard genuflects during the consecration at Cardinal George Pell’s funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA

“Despite his 81 years, he seemed to be in good health,” he said. “Hospitalized for hip surgery, heart complications ensued, causing his death.”

“Enlightened and comforted by faith in the risen Christ, we are gathered around this altar and the body of Cardinal Pell to entrust his soul to God, that he may be received into the immensity of his love in life without end.”

Re described Pell as a “strong-willed and decisive protagonist, characterized by the temper of a strong character, which at times could appear harsh.”

The cardinal’s premature death, Re said, has left us dismayed, but “there is only room in our hearts for hope.”

Cardinal George Pell's coffin is removed from the altar after his funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA
Cardinal George Pell’s coffin is removed from the altar after his funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023. Alan Koppschall/CNA

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Pope Francis: Vulnerability threatens the ‘culture of efficiency’

January 10, 2023 Catholic News Agency 1
Pope Francis blesses a young woman during a general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall in December 2022. / Vatican Media.

Rome Newsroom, Jan 10, 2023 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Sickness and vulnerability is scary because it is a threat to the culture of efficiency, Pope Francis said on Tuesday, in a message published ahead of the World Day of the Sick.

“We are rarely prepared for illness. Oftentimes, we fail even to admit that we are getting older,” the pope said Jan. 10. “Our vulnerability frightens us and the pervasive culture of efficiency pushes us to sweep it under the carpet, leaving no room for our human frailty.”

“We are all fragile and vulnerable, and need that compassion which knows how to pause, approach, heal, and raise up. Thus, the plight of the sick is a call that cuts through indifference and slows the pace of those who go on their way as if they had no sisters and brothers,” he said.

The Catholic Church will mark the 31st annual World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France is associated with the sick because of the presence of a miraculous spring from which many people have obtained physical healing.

This year’s papal message is titled “Take care of him: Compassion as a synodal exercise of healing.”

“It is not only what functions well or those who are productive that matter,” Pope Francis said. “Sick people, in fact, are at the center of God’s people, and the Church advances together with them as a sign of a humanity in which everyone is precious and no one should be discarded or left behind.”

He said it is crucial that the whole Church strive to follow the example of the Good Samaritan.

Just as the Samaritan asked the innkeeper to take care of the wounded man, “Jesus addresses the same call to each of us,” Francis said.

Pope Francis greets a woman in a wheelchair in Rome's Piazza di Spagna on Dec. 8, 2022. Vatican Media
Pope Francis greets a woman in a wheelchair in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna on Dec. 8, 2022. Vatican Media

“As I noted in Fratelli Tutti, ‘The parable shows us how a community can be rebuilt by men and women who identify with the vulnerability of others, who reject the creation of a society of exclusion, and act instead as neighbors, lifting up and rehabilitating the fallen for the sake of the common good’ (No. 67),” he said.

“Indeed,” the pope continued, “‘we were created for a fulfillment that can only be found in love. We cannot be indifferent to suffering’ (No. 68).”

Pope Francis also noted that sickness and weakness are part of the human journey, thus, it can be an act of synodality to walk together in community with those who are suffering.

“I invite all of us to reflect on the fact that it is especially through the experience of vulnerability and illness that we can learn to walk together according to the style of God, which is closeness, compassion, and tenderness,” he said.

Pope Francis also addressed the role injustice plays in the lack of access to adequate medical care which many people experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic, he said, showed the limits of existing public welfare systems.

“It is no longer easy to distinguish the assaults on human life and dignity that arise from natural causes from those caused by injustice and violence,” he said.

“In fact,” he continued, “increasing levels of inequality and the prevailing interests of the few now affect every human environment to the extent that it is difficult to consider any experience as having solely ‘natural’ causes. All suffering takes place in the context of a ‘culture’ and its various contradictions.”

“Gratitude, then, needs to be matched by actively seeking, in every country, strategies and resources in order to guarantee each person’s fundamental right to basic and decent healthcare,” the pope said.

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