Rome and the world bid farewell to Cardinal George Pell, as close to a thousand mourners from across the globe, including cardinals and archbishops, family members, friends, and even foes, gathered for his solemn requiem Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday 14 January.
In his homily, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals and principal celebrant of the Mass, described Cardinal Pell as “a man of God and a man of the Church” with “a deep faith and great steadfastness of doctrine, which he always defended without hesitation and with courage, concerned only with being faithful to Christ”.
“The unexpected close of Cardinal Pell’s life took us all by surprise,” Cardinal Re said, remarking that “he seemed to be in good health” at Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral Mass only a week prior. The Italian prelate also recalled Cardinal Pell’s trial in 2019 and 2020 on charges of alleged sexual abuse, his subsequent conviction and 404-day imprisonment and his final exoneration by Australia’s highest court – describing the ordeal as “an unjust and painful condemnation”.
“It was an experience of great suffering, endured with confidence in God’s judgment, setting an example of how to accept even unjust punishments with dignity and inner peace. Faith and prayer were of great comfort and support to him in this sad affair,” he said. Pope Francis arrived in a wheelchair at the end of Mass to perform the rite of final commendation and valediction, as is now his custom for the funeral of a cardinal. Members of Cardinal Pell’s family – including his brother David and his cousin Chris Meney – as well as priests and religious, had travelled to Rome from Australia.
Over 50 cardinals and archbishops were in attendance, including Benedict XVI’s longtime private secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the German former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal James Harvey, the American archpriest of the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, and his fellow countryman Cardinal Raymond Burke – who said of Cardinal Pell that he “admired, in particular, his Roman heart” which, while treasuring his Australian homeland, “beat with the love of Christ which embraces the whole world”.
Prelates known to be at odds with Cardinal Pell – whether on doctrine, liturgy, or finances – were also present, including Cardinal Arthur Roche, the English prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, and Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the Vatican’s former deputy Secretary of State who opposed Cardinal Pell’s attempts to clean up Vatican finances and who remains on trial on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Despite their differences, Cardinal Pell had defended his former rival’s right to due process in his prosecution over his involvement in a multi-million-euro London property scandal.
Standing outside St Peter’s Basilica after the funeral, Libero Milone, the Vatican’s former auditor-general who worked closely with Cardinal Pell on financial reform, told the Catholic Herald: “We have lost a good friend.” Meanwhile, Danny Casey – a close Australian friend of Cardinal Pell who worked with him at the Secretariat for the Economy from 2014 to 2017 – emphasised how deeply concerned Cardinal Pell was for the poor and homeless. “He used to have dinner with them every few weeks on the streets,” he said. “He didn’t advertise it, but that was just who he was.”
Fr Joseph Carola SJ, a professor of patristics in Rome, who first met Cardinal Pell in 2005 in Sydney, said: “My most cherished memories of the Cardinal come from the spring of 2021 when, along with seminarians in their third year of theology, he attended the weekly sessions of my patristics seminar at the Pontifical Gregorian University. It was like having a retired, battle-proven general come back to the military academy to share his wisdom with the soon-to-be young lieutenants.
“We touched upon the question of perseverance,” the Jesuit recounted. “We discussed the fact that too many young priests leave active ministry. The Cardinal noted that, while different reasons lie behind their decisions to leave, those who leave share one thing in common: they have ceased to pray.”
He said Cardinal Pell “offered us insight into his own perseverance through the many trials that he himself had had to endure. In the last years of his Roman, and indeed terrestrial sojourn, he persevered in prayer, frequently attending Sunday Vespers at the Church of San Celso and daily Eucharistic Adoration at the Church of Santo Spirito.
“I am confident that he continues to pray for us whom the good Lord presently calls to take up our own places on the Church’s frontline.”
A former Primate of Australia, Cardinal Pell will be buried in St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, on 2 February – the feast of Candlemas, which marks the end of the Christmas season.
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