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IRISH-BORN CARDINAL Kevin Farrell has found himself at the centre of media attention following the death of Pope Francis.
That’s because since 2019, Cardinal Farrell has been the Camerlengo of the Catholic Church.
Farrell was born in Dublin in 1947 and lived in Drimnagh, but has spent much of his career in the US and is a naturalised US citizen.
After being ordained as a priest in Rome in 1978, he served as a chaplain in the University of Monterrey in Mexico.
Following this, Farrell is a fluent Spanish speaker – one of the most widely spoken languages in the global Church – and is also known to have some Italian and Irish.
In 1983, he took up a ministry within a parish in Washington and went on to hold many roles within the archdiocese of Washington.
He was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Washington in 2001 and became bishop of Dallas in 2007.
In 2016, Francis then called him to serve in the Roman Curia, as prefect of the new Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life.
The Roman Curia is essentially the government of the Catholic Church and is made up of different offices, congregations and councils which govern different areas of the Church.
The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life was created in 2016 to cultivate the faith of laypeople, young people and families.
From there, Farrell was appointed at the Camerlengo of the Church in 2019.
He is also president of the Commission for Confidential Matters, which oversees the awarding of certain public contracts, and Farrell is also President of the Vatican City State Supreme Court – the highest court for civil law appeals within the territory.
Alan Whelan is a childhood friend of Farrell, as well as a member of the Catholic Secondary Schools Parent Association.
He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that Farrell left Drimnagh at the age of 14 to 15 to join the Legionaries of Christ, as his brother had done three or four years earlier - Brian Farrell is a priest who has held roles within the Vatican.
“When JFK was assassinated, I remember that day very, very well,” said Whelan, “because amazingly, 50 years later one of my boyhood friends became the Bishop of Dallas and performed the commemoration ceremony.”
He said the parish in Drimnagh was “full of faith” and that Cardina Farrell was 2just like anybody else”.
Whelan added: “You see the trust that Pope Francis must have put in Kevin by making him Camerlengo, knowing how personal would be that responsibility after Pope Francis’s sad demise.”
Indeed, it is Farrell’s role as Camerlengo which has placed him in the media glare.
The day-to-day activities of the Camerlengo includes being the administrator of the property and the revenues of the Vatican.
But when a pope dies, they become pivotal to the centuries-old ceremonies that follow.
It is the Camerlengo who officially declares the pope’s death.
This is done via a largely ceremonial practice which sees the Camerlengo visit the deceased pope and call out his baptismal name three times – in the case of Francis, this was Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
After the pope is declared dead, the Camerlengo takes the pope’s Fisherman’s Ring and defaces it — Francis only wore his for special occasions, preferring to wear the one he had as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, in Argentina.
The Fisherman’s Ring is presented to the pope at his papal inauguration and refers back to St Peter, the first pope, who was a fisherman.
In centuries past, destroying the ring would have served a practical purpose and prevented the signet ring from being fraudulently used on papal documents.
Nowadays, it is mostly a symbolic act that signifies the end of the pope’s reign – the Vatican is one of the few absolute monarchies that remain.
Farrell then informed the College of Cardinals of Francis’s death before announcing it to the world.
At 9:45 AM, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta with these words:
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 21, 2025
"Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning,… pic.twitter.com/De4pEZkvs9
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” said Farrell.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church.
“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalised.”
It was also Farrell who sealed the papal apartments and oversaw the deposition of Francis’s remains into his coffin in a chapel in Santa Marta.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra seal the doors of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace and the door to the apartment of the Casa Santa Marta, where the late Pope Francis lived.
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 21, 2025
The rite of the certification of death and… pic.twitter.com/PP6j4SbqPr
Tomorrow morning, Farrell will also lead the solemn procession to take Francis’s coffin from Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, where Francis’s remains will lie in state until his funeral Mass on Saturday.
After entering St Peter’s Basilica, Farrell will lead the Liturgy of the Word, before the Basilica is opened to visitors to pay their respects.
Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell presides over the rite of the ascertainment of death and the placement of the late Pope Francis' body in the coffin, which took place on Monday evening in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. pic.twitter.com/63aPKTW9nD
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 22, 2025
And throughout this period when there is no pope, the Church is in the “sede vacante” period as the papal seat is vacant.
During this period, Farrell oversees the day-to-day administration of the Vatican.
He is not, however, an “interim pope” and that office is vacant until a new pope is elected.
The camerlengo gets written reports from Vatican offices about their current assets; a copy of the current and projected budget for the Holy See; and any other information from the Vatican’s economic ministry that would be useful for cardinals and the future pope.
But Farrell’s primary role during this period will be to oversee Francis’s funeral and the events leading up to the conclave and when serious matters arise, he must consult with the College of Cardinals.
The first General Congregation of the College of Cardinals took place on Tuesday morning in the Vatican, marking the beginning of a period of prayer, reflection, and preparation following the death of Pope Francis.https://t.co/81OBzquFLD pic.twitter.com/QdGIpQMKgf
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 22, 2025
Farrell will also be tasked with overseeing the practical arrangements of the conclave and with ensuring its secrecy and integrity, something he will be assisted in by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra.
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