Who is Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell?

Conclave organizer

His speech has toured televisions around the world. The wet eyes behind his rectangular glasses, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell announced this morning the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88. “Dear brothers and sisters, it is with deep pain that I must announce the death of our holy father, François. At 7:35 a.m. (Monday, April 21, 2025), the bishop of Rome, François, returned to the father’s house, “he announced, the serious voice. It was this 77 -year -old American cardinal, of Irish origin, who noted the death of the Argentinian pontiff.

Manage current affairs

Who is this church man, known to Vaticanists but much less from the general public? He was appointed in 2019 by the Holy Father to take care of the Vatican temporal affairs in the event of vacancy of the apostolic seat, a function commonly known as Camerlingue of the Holy Church.

Cardinal Farrell is therefore now “acting pope” until the election of François’s successor. In addition to managing current affairs, he must also take care of the organization of the next conclave responsible for electing the future pope. The Camerlingue will have to pass the new fisherman’s ring to the finger of the pope designated by the cardinals voters, then lead him to his apartments before putting the keys back.

The WYD 2023 is him

Arrived in the United States in the 1960s, Kevin Joseph Farrell was ordered a priest for the legionaries of Christ in 1978. Chaplain at a university in Mexico, he took care of the questions of bioethics and social ethics. He was then auxiliary bishop of Washington from 2001 to 2007, then bishop of Dallas.

Within the American episcopal conference, he took care of the cash and was even chairman of the Committee for Budget and Finance, as well as that for national collections. He was also a member of the Divine Cult Committee, a member of the operational group for the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life, and consultant of the immigration committee.

Then it was created Cardinal in 2016 by Pope Francis, in charge of a new dicastery for laity, family and life. He notably took care of the organization of the World Youth Days of 2023 in Lisbon.