At this transition phase Farrell will be joined by the dean of the Cardinal College, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re
The death of Pope Francis, as happened with his predecessors and also following the renunciation of Benedict XVI, kicked off the period of the vacant apostolic office, the period of time in which, pending the election of the new Pope by the cardinals gathered in the conclave, all the positions of the Holy See cease with the exception of the so -called ordinary administration, entrusted to the figure of the Camerlengo of Santa Romana Chiesa. From 14 February 2019 the charge is covered by Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrellappointed by Pope Francis and considered his trusted man for years.
Who is Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell
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Born in 1947, Kevin Joseph FarrellIrish birth and American by adoption, began his ecclesiastical career in 1966, entering the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. After attending the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Farrell was ordained priest of the legionaries of Christ and in 1983after a year spent in the parish of Saint Bartholomew in Bethesda, in the state of Washington, he left the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ and joined Washington’s Archdiocese.
In 2001 Farrell was appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington and, a few years later, it was Promoted to Bishop of Dallasassignment he has held for less than ten years. On August 15, 2016 he was appointed by Pope Francis Prefect of the new Dicastery for the lay people, the family and life and a few weeks later the appointment in Cardinal arrived, decided in the consistory of 19 November 2016. A little less than a year later Farrell has been appointed member of the administration of the heritage of the Apostolic See And two years later the appointment of Camerlengo of Santa Romana Chiesa arrived for him.
It was Cardinal Farrell, on the morning of Monday 21 April 2025, ad publicly announce the disappearance of Pope Bergoglio In a video recorded in the chapel of the Santa Marta house. Farrell, as required by the Apostolic Constitution Dominici Gregis universesthe moment of the disappearance of Pope Francis came into office at 7.35 on Monday of the Angel.
What Cardinal Camerlengo has to do
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Cardinal Camerlengo, in fact, is the figure in charge of officially ascertain the death of the pontiff“in the presence of the master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, the cleric prelates and the secretary and chancellor of the same apostolic chamber”. Immediately after the assessment, the task of affix the seals to the study and the Pope’s Chamber and communicate his death to the Cardinal Vicar for the Urbe before the official announcement to the faithful.
With the vacant apostolic seat, the Camerlengo takes on a role of primary importance, becoming in fact The Head of the Administration of the Holy See assets and the preparation of the conclave for the election of the new Pope. The symbolic act of the beginning of the vacant seat is the Destruction of the piscatorial ringthe ring that the Pope wears and is used to seal the official documents.
At this transition phase, the Camerlengo Farrell will be joined by the dean of the Cardinal College, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Reappointed by Pope Francis in 2020 and confirmed on January 7th. It will be the king, 91 years old last January, to celebrate the funeral of Pope Francis and to convene the conclave, establishing the date and inviting the 135 cardinal voters to be part of it, while The chamberlain will have to supervise that the confidentiality of the conclave is not violated.
At the end of the election, then, the Camerlengo will have to write a report to declare the outcome of the voting of each session which will be approved by the three cardinal assistants and delivered, closed in a sealed envelope, to the new pope immediately after the appointment. At that point the new pontificate will begin and the Camerlengo Farrell will return to his ordinary functions.
La Gazzetta dello Sport
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