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      Who Is Kevin Farrell, the Vatican’s New De Facto Administrator?

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      Cardinal Kevin Farrell performed one of the most solemn acts in his position as cardinal chamberlain, or camerlengo in Italian, of the Roman Catholic Church, when he announced to the world that Pope Francis had died.“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” said Cardinal Farrell, an Irish American who, as camerlengo, will run the ordinary affairs of the Vatican until a new pope is chosen. “His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,” he said, as bells began to toll in churches across Rome.Vatican MediaThe camerlengo is in charge of day-to-day operations during the “Apostolica Sede Vacans,” the period between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of the next pontiff, though he cannot make any major decisions affecting the Church during this time.The Vatican announced that on Monday evening, Cardinal Farrell will preside over the ritual of certification of Francis’ death and lay his body in the coffin in the chapel of the Vatican guesthouse where the pontiff resided. The cardinal will be joined by other Vatican officials, including Vatican medical staff and members of Francis’ family.The pope’s body will remain in the chapel until the College of Cardinals decides on the day and hour that he will be brought to St. Peter’s Basilica, in a procession led by Cardinal Farrell. The Vatican announced Monday that this could take place as soon as Wednesday morning, depending on what the College of Cardinals decides. The college includes the 252 cardinals of the Catholic church, of whom 135 are under 80 and can vote to elect a new pope. There will be a public viewing until Francis’ funeral and burial, which are supposed to take place four to six days after his death.Cardinal Farrell, as camerlengo, will also lock and seal the pope’s residence, which in the case of Francis consisted of much of the second floor of the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse originally built to house out- of-town cardinals during a conclave.The Irish-born Cardinal Farrell, 77, spent more than 30 years working in the United States. He was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington between 2002 and 2007 and bishop of Dallas from 2007 to 2017. He left the United States in 2016 when Pope Francis called him to Rome as prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, a department in the Roman Curia, as the central administration of the church is known. Three years later, Francis named him camerlengo, one of the highest positions in the church, though it is mostly ceremonial. And in 2023 Francis named him president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City State.Cardinal Farrell is the younger brother of Bishop Brian Farrell, who was the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 2002 to 2024. More

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      The Cardinals Must Now Decide on Francis’ Legacy

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      Pope Francis’ death on Monday introduces the Catholic Church to an uncertain era for which he tried to prepare it. The cardinals will soon be summoned to Rome for the conclave to elect his successor and must now consider if Francis’ vision — a merciful church in which all are welcome — remains the right one or whether an altogether different approach, perhaps one more focused on the demands of the Christian faith, is needed.Before the conclave starts, the cardinals will spend up to two weeks in Rome meeting to consider what kind of pope is needed, both for the church and for the world. As the discussions go on, they will ask, “Who among us?” Only then do the 135 cardinals eligible to vote — those under 80 years old — go into lockdown in the Sistine Chapel and decide on their choice.The cardinals will be aware of the moment. In the final months of Francis’ papacy, the West appeared to be fracturing, along with the post-World War II rules-based order. The world now seems a jungle in which might is right, in which imperial centers — America, China, Russia — compete ever more fiercely to assert their sovereignty while trampling on that of smaller nations. The cardinals will take note, too, of a social breakdown within many countries: the increasing collapse of civility and the angry resentment that lie behind the rise of nationalist populism. They will see growing violence and the prospect of more war.They will wonder what all this now asks of the church as a whole and of the papacy in particular.While worrying about the threat to democracy and law, most of the cardinals are not likely to mourn the imminent passing of the liberal order, which many may see as the consequence of individualism and market idolatry. They instead may blame Western liberalism for what they consider gross social inequalities, the privatization of morality, the erosion of institutions and the neglect of the common good.Many churchmen are traditionally sympathetic to workers; they share the indignation of ordinary people at the way the deck has been stacked in favor of the educated and wealthy and against the working poor. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, from which nearly half of the electors hail, many cardinals are also angry about market-driven globalization. They believe liberal Western values have been imposed on the world, dissolving bonds of trust, tradition, community and family.At the same time, probably few will be impressed by the rise of strongmen dressed in the flag of nation and faith. Many may regard Donald Trump, Elon Musk and his ilk as nihilists who know how to destroy but not to build and be aghast at the hounding of migrants and the reckless rejection of environmental concern, both of which were core to Catholic social teaching under Francis, who appointed four-fifths of the electors. They will probably see in the new authoritarianism a sign that the state is no longer acting as a brake on what St. Augustine called the “libido dominandi” — the desire to dominate — but now exalts it in the person of an autocrat.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Meets With JD Vance After Criticism of Trump Administration

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      Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the pontiff’s residence in Rome on Sunday, the Vatican said, in a previously unannounced visit during Easter celebrations.The Vatican said the meeting was a “brief” exchange of Easter wishes that lasted “a few minutes.” In a photograph released by the Vatican, the pope is seated in a wheelchair opposite Mr. Vance as the pair talk.The meeting came after the pope criticized the Trump administration’s deportation policies and urged Catholics to reject anti-immigrant narratives, in an unusually direct attack on the American government.The rebuke came in the form of an open letter to American bishops in February, with some of the pope’s criticisms apparently leveled directly at statements made by Mr. Vance.Mr. Vance, who was baptized as a Catholic six years ago, has been spending Holy Week in Rome with his family. He attended the Good Friday service in St. Peter’s Basilica. On Saturday, Mr. Vance met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister.Mr. Vance had not been expected to meet the pope, who only recently left the hospital after spending five weeks there in serious condition. The pope has made unannounced appearances since his hospital stay, but his health tightly restricts his planned engagements.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis Blesses Faithful at Easter Mass

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      The pontiff, appearing frail from a balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica, blessed a crowd gathered on the square outside. But a Vatican aide delivered a papal address that focused on global conflicts.Pope Francis on Sunday blessed tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Easter Mass, his weak, raspy voice a reminder of his frailty less than a month after being discharged from a lengthy hospital stay for life-threatening pneumonia.A roar erupted from the crowd in the square when the pope appeared in a wheelchair on a balcony at Saint Peter’s Basilica and raised a hand in greeting.“Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,” the pope said. Then he waited as Archbishop Diego Ravelli, a Vatican aide delivered the “Urbi et Orbi,” a papal address delivered at Easter and Christmas.After the address, Francis blessed those present, then waved. The crowds gathered in the square cheered, and called out “Viva il Papa,” or “Long Live the Pope.”Before his appearance, the pope met “for a few minutes” with Vice President JD Vance, who was spending the Easter weekend in Rome, according to the Vatican.When Francis was discharged from the hospital on March 23, his doctors advised him to take it easy for at least two months as he convalesced — and to steer clear of crowds and situations where he could be exposed to germs. His doctor said Francis had almost died in the hospital, where he spent five weeks being treated for pneumonia and other complications.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis Thanks Doctors and Nurses for His Recovery

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      Although the pontiff has begun meeting with more people, he remains frail and will not lead important Easter events, the Vatican announced.Pope Francis on Wednesday held an audience with dozens of doctors, nurses and hospital staff who helped get him back to health after bronchial infections and double pneumonia put his life at risk earlier this year.“Thank you, thank you for everything you have done,” Francis said in a raspy voice. “I pray for you, I hope you do the same for me.”But in a sign of his continued frailty, the Vatican announced that the 88-year old pontiff would not lead the celebration of major services on Easter weekend and had instead delegated several cardinals to take his place. It remains unclear if he will attend any Easter festivities, though he may still give a blessing.His brief statements to the hospital staff were the most Francis had said in public since March 23, when he was released from the Policlinico A. Gemelli in Rome after a 38-day stay.When he left the hospital, his doctors disclosed that the pontiff had been so ill that he nearly died on two occasions. Francis was admitted on Feb. 14 with bronchitis that developed into pneumonia in both lungs.Since returning to the Vatican, Francis has been convalescing in the guesthouse where he lives, gradually increasing appointments in his daily routine. Along with daily physiotherapy, both motor and respiratory, Francis has begun to meet with top Vatican officials on a regular basis, according to the Vatican press office. He has also been working on texts and documents, it said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Recovering Pope Francis Surprises Pilgrims With a Public Appearance

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      Pope Francis was wheeled through a crowd that included health care workers from around the world, who had been told he was watching their Jubilee Mass on television.As entrances go, this one was both unexpected and welcome. That much was clear from the thunderous applause and cheers on Sunday as Pope Francis made his first public appearance since leaving a Rome hospital two weeks ago.Francis arrived, unannounced, on the dais in St. Peter’s Square near the end of a Mass that was part of a pilgrimage by health care workers and their patients.The pope said very few words, his voice still strained after a six-week hospital stay for pneumonia and other problems that his doctors said twice brought him close to death.“Happy Sunday to everyone, many thanks,” Francis said, waving his hands. A nasal cannula was visible in both nostrils; Francis continues to rely on supplemental oxygen, the Vatican has said.Sitting on a wheelchair pushed by his trusted nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, Francis moved through groups of pilgrims — including dozens of doctors and nurses from around the world — who had come the Vatican on Sunday for this weekend’s Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers.“What a wonderful surprise — the pope still has health problems but he wanted to give a gift to the faithful,” said Lamberto Rosa, a businessman who volunteers with the Order of Malta at some Vatican events. “He has a fighting spirit and wants to be present.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis Makes Public Appearance in Rome

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      From a balcony, Francis greeted hundreds of people waiting outside the hospital where he had been treated for respiratory problems.Pope Francis, looking frail and with belabored breathing that made it difficult for him to speak, made his first appearance in more than six weeks Sunday, appearing briefly on the balcony of a Rome hospital to greet hundreds of people gathered in the square in front.“Thank you everyone,” he said in a wisp of a voice. The pope later left the hospital to briefly stop at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which has an icon of the Virgin Mary he is devoted to, before heading to the Vatican guesthouse where he lives.“I see a woman with yellow flowers,” Francis said during his appearance on the second-floor balcony after he was brought out in a wheelchair. “She’s good,” he said, complimenting her. He then sat and waved with both hands while people cheered and waved flags.But after more than a month out of the public eye, Francis emerged deeply changed and diminished looking, underlining what will be a long recovery and a new phase for him and the church. It became apparent on the balcony that, for now, the Francis of old, who spoke off the cuff and made physical closeness to the faithful a hallmark of his pontificate, was transformed.The pope’s voice was thin and raspy, which was to be expected for a patient who had suffered serious damage to his lungs and respiratory muscles, as his doctors explained at a news conference Saturday.His appearance on Sunday was met with cheers of “Papa Francesco” from the faithful outside the hospital. “Long live the pope,” someone called out.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In Pittsburgh, Many Sentiments About Pope’s Health Reflect Concern, Not Closeness

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      On a recent weekend in this once deeply Catholic city, many expressed worry about Pope Francis, but there was also an air of ambivalence.Congregants escaping the winter morning’s chill trickled into Immaculate Heart of Mary Church for Sunday Mass last weekend. There was a time when the massive brick church, which stands like a beacon atop Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood, would have been packed with parishioners who lived in the surrounding blocks.Mark Dobies and his wife, Kim, remember those days. Their grandfathers were among the Polish immigrants who built the church, whose interior is bathed in an ethereal light by the stained-glass windows. The couple, who live two blocks away, were married under the church’s dome, as were their parents.“I’ve watched it evolve,” Mr. Dobies said after Sunday’s service, which resembled a pandemic Mass with far more pews empty than occupied. “People migrated out of the city.”This arc of a storied church in what was once a deeply Catholic city has in many ways mirrored what has taken place around the country, as ethnic congregations in working-class neighborhoods shriveled when manufacturing jobs disappeared. The church’s long-running sexual abuse scandal only exacerbated the decline.Now, that distancing from the church might be seen here in another way: the relative ambivalence toward Pope Francis, whose health is increasingly frail. There might be an occasional candle lit in Pittsburgh for Francis, the 88-year-old pontiff, but there are no massive public vigils or signs of a community on edge.“I’m praying, but I don’t know a lot about him,” Carol Novak said after a Monday morning Mass at St. Anthony Chapel, a quaint church in the Troy Hill neighborhood that boasts of housing more relics than anywhere outside of Rome.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More