On Monday, April 21, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, casting a shadow of mourning over the Vatican and around the world. According to an official statement, he died at his residence in Casa Santa Marta on Easter Monday.
The first to officially announce the Pope’s death was Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an Irish-American with longstanding ties to the United States. Following the announcement, he assumed the role of Camerlengo, the Vatican’s interim leader during the period between the death of one pope and the election of a new one.
Appointed to this role in 2019 by Pope Francis himself, Cardinal Farrell will oversee all preparations for the upcoming papal conclave. This transitional period is known as Apostolica Sedes Vacans.
Born in Dublin in 1947, Cardinal Farrell studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His career spans several countries, including Mexico and the United States, where he worked for more than three decades in various parishes. In 2007, he was appointed Bishop of Dallas, and in 2016, Pope Francis named him head of a new pastoral department in the Vatican and elevated him to the rank of cardinal.
In 2023, he was also appointed President of the Vatican City State Supreme Court and head of the Commission for Confidential Matters.
As Camerlengo, Cardinal Farrell’s primary responsibility is to manage the transition until a new pope is elected. He will also formally sign the death certificate of Pope Francis and lead the traditional rites, including placing the Pope’s body in a coffin and overseeing the funeral procession from Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica, expected to take place on Wednesday morning.
Historically, only two Camerlengos have gone on to become pope—Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939.