Cardinal George Pell farewelled at the Vatican in final journey home to Australia

Cardinal George Pell's funeral service was led by Pope Francis, whose papacy he described as a "disaster". He will be laid to rest at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop.

Pope Francis prays during the funeral ceremony for Cardinal George Pell in St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on Saturday 14 January 2023. Source: AAP / AP

KEY POINTS

• The funeral service was organised by the Vatican.
• He will be laid to rest in the crypt at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop.
• A final blessing, delivered in Latin, was recited by Pope Francis.

This article contains references to child abuse.

The Australian cardinal who decried the papacy of Pope Francis as a "catastrophe" was given a funeral Saturday in St Peter's Basilica, with the pontiff imparting a final blessing for the once high-ranking Vatican prelate.

Cardinal Pell was farewelled on Saturday at a mass in St Peter's Basilica — the same Vatican City church where Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's funeral was held last week.

The most senior Australian member of the Catholic Church, Cardinal George Pell, 81, died on 10 January, shortly after undergoing hip surgery in a Rome hospital.

The funeral mass itself was celebrated by an Italian cardinal, Giovanni Battista Re, in his role as Dean of the College of Cardinals, but a final blessing, delivered in Latin, was recited by Pope Francis.

Right after Cardinal Pell's death, it was revealed that the cardinal was the author of a memo that had been circulating for many months. In the memo, he lamented that the current papacy was a "disaster" and a "catastrophe."

Pope Francis next to the coffin of Cardinal George Pell during his funeral mass in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, on 14 January 2023. Source: AAP / EPA

Cardinal Pell's funeral came nine days after he attended former pope Benedict's farewell, where the Archbishop of Sydney, Reverend Anthony Fisher, said he was "in sparkling form — witty and wise".

His coffin will be returned to Australia to be buried in the crypt at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victoria's Daniel Andrews ruled out holding state services for the former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney.

As the Vatican's finance minister for three years, Cardinal Pell was a key player in the early years of Pope Francis' papacy, whose goals included reforming the Holy See's finances, which had a long history of scandals and poor management.

Cardinal Pell later returned to his native Australia to be tried on child sex abuse charges over allegations that he molested two choirboys while he was archbishop of Melbourne.

Cardinals and bishops at the funeral ceremony for Australian Cardinal George Pell in St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on Saturday. Source: AAP / Sipa USA

He served a year in solitary confinement before an earlier court conviction was overturned in 2020.

A representative for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said masses would be dedicated to the late Cardinal Pell on Sunday.

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