As the first Jesuit and Latin American papacy, Pope Francis, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, the responsibility of leading the Catholic Church has fallen to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican’s camerlengo, during its period of mourning and change.
It was Farrell who stood before the universe to deliver melancholy news from the Vatican,” The Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father’s property. ” He is an Irish-born friar and longtime supporter of the late pope.
As camerlengo, Farrell has then assumed an essential managerial position in Vatican to handle the Church’s everyday activities and preparing for the vote of a new bishop.
” Dearest brothers and sisters, with profound sorrow, I must reveal the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Farrell said. ” At 7:35 this night, The Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father’s home … With immense gratitude for his example as a true follower of the Lord Jesus, we commend the spirit of Pope Francis to the eternal merciful love of God. ” he added while delivering the information of Francis’s suicide.
Who is the Camerlengo?
As the pope king is now unoccupied, Cardinal Farrell has assumed an important part that is vital to the Church’s stability. As camerlengo — or chamberlain — he becomes the acting head of the Vatican during the” sede vacante,” the period between the death ( or resignation ) of a pope and the election of a new one.
The camerlengo’s initial official responsibility is to check the pope’s death and pick up the death certificate. Farrell may also place royal seals on the priest’s home and study and started preparations for the funeral, which is expected to bring world dignitaries and millions of mourners.
But his position doesn’t stop there. Over the coming months, Farrell will handle the day-to-day management of the Holy See, chairing a council of three different chiefs and coordinating with Vatican leaders to ensure the smooth functioning of Church matters.
Pope Francis, the earliest Latin American pope and a world spiritual leader known for his humility, kindness, and liberal attitude on social problems, died on Monday at the age of 88, the Vatican announced. His dying followed a prolonged fight with respiratory disease and marks the end of a traditional 12-year church that left a deep impression on the Catholic Church and the universe.
The Argentine-born pope had been hospitalised at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14, 2025, with a severe respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. It was the longest hospitalisation of his papacy, lasting 38 days. Francis had long suffered from lung complications, having had part of one lung removed in his youth.
World leaders including PM Modi, former US President Joe Biden, US Vice President JD Vance, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and others mourned Pope Francis.
