Pope Francis leads final part of Cardinal George Pell’s funeral at St Peter’s Basilica

The Pope led the final moments of George Pell’s funeral mass where family, friends and members of the Catholic leadership from around the world congregated.

Pope Francis led the final moments of the funeral of George Pell, one of the Catholic church’s most controversial headline figures, which lasted 90 minutes in Rome on Saturday night.

Towards the end of the service, the wheelchair-bound Pope gave the final commendation and farewell, speaking in Latin. Then as he was wheeled past the coffin, Francis touched his forehead in acknowledgement of the cardinal.

Pope Francis reorganised his schedule to “pop in” for the final moments of the funeral for Pell, one of the Catholic church’s most controversial headline figures.

Francis had a pre-organised event at the Pontifical North American College, the Catholic school which prepares seminarians to become priests, on Saturday morning local time, but he was to be back at the Vatican in time to deliver the final blessing and commendation for Cardinal Pell at the service that began at midday local time (9.30pm AEDT).

Pope Francis is pushed on a wheelchair by the coffin of Australia's Cardinal George Pell, during a funeral mass in the St. Peter’s basilica at the Vatican. Picture: AFP

Pope Francis arrives on a wheelchair by the coffin of Australia's Cardinal George Pell. Picture: AFP

The Australian Cardinal’s dark brown wooden coffin was moved from the floor of the small church of Saint Stephen of the Abyssinians, inside the Vatican walls close to the Santa Marta residence where Pope Francis lives for a period time to St Peter’s Basilica for the mass.

A priest placed a gospel on top of the coffin after it was brought to the church.

In keeping with tradition for deceased cardinals, the mass was delivered by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re.

Funeral mass for Cardinal George Pell held at the Altar of the Cathedral in St Peter's Basilica, officiate by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

Many people came to kneel in prayer at the church when it opened for Pell’s hours of lying in state.

Pell’s brother David was spotted at the service as the coffin arrived.

VATICAN—Cardinal George Pell’s remains are processed into St Peter’s Basilica, accompanied by his brother, David Pell and members of his extended family and household. pic.twitter.com/SwpK0rGgmE

— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) January 14, 2023

Cardinal George Pell's funeral Mass beginning now. Pell's brother, David, is seated near the front.

(📷 Alan Koppschall/CNA) pic.twitter.com/WCOTHv8d8H

— Hannah Brockhaus (@HannahBrockhaus) January 14, 2023

Funeral mass for Cardinal George Pell held at the Altar of the Cathedral in St Peter's Basilica. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

Cardinals and bishops conduct a prayer over the coffin of Australia's Cardinal George Pell, during a funeral mass. Picture: AFP

Attendees of George Pell’s funeral mass at the Vatican. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

Cardinal George Pell lying in state in the church of St Stephen of the Abyssinians in the Vatican, 13 January 2023. Picture: Twitter/@tdwilliamsrome

Cardinal Pell was farewelled inside a church he knew well: St Peter’s Basilica where he was ordained 56 years ago.

Pell, photographed in 2013, was a powerful figure inside the Vatican. Picture: CNS

Pell’s funeral took place at the same venue the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was farewelled just two weeks ago.

It comes as it was revealed that he was behind an explosive anonymous memo detailing Pope Francis’s “catastrophic” papacy, which claimed the Vatican was losing as much as $A54.3 million per year.

“Everyone here is talking about it,” a Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Funeral mass for Cardinal George Pell being held. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

He said he did not doubt Pell was the author but said the revelation should have been held back until after his funeral “out of respect for the dead”.

Italian journalist Sandro Magister, who has a long track record of receiving leaked Vatican documents, published an anonymous memo on his blog titled Settimo Cielo (Seventh Heaven).

He said Pell gave him permission to publish it under the pseudonym “Demos”, which is Greek for populace.

Priests at the funeral mass for Cardinal George Pell. Photo: Victor Sokolowicz

In Italy, particularly inside the most senior level of the church, Cardinal Pell was considered a martyr for having endured solitary prison confinement in Victoria for over a year before his conviction on child-sex charges was quashed by the High Court.

There the division around Cardinal Pell had little to do with those charges, nor his dealing of the church’s failures, relocating and knowing of predatory priests around Victoria, but rather his leadership in pressing for a more conservative line from the Pope.

Senior church officials, including a powerful group of cardinals, had rallied around Cardinal Pell’s manoeuvres to install a more conservative future pope after Francis when Cardinal Pell returned to Rome six months after being freed from jail.

They were shocked at his sudden death after having hip surgery on Tuesday local time.

Pell died in Rome aged 81, due to heart problems following hip surgery.

He was Australia’s most senior Catholic and a high-ranking member of the Vatican leadership, serving as Prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy from 2014 until 2019.

However, his leadership was shrouded in controversy.

Pell was convicted and then acquitted of historical child sexual abuse following a two-year legal battle. He spent 405 days in prison before he was released.

Pell’s body will be buried in the crypt at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Picture NCA NewsWire / Seb Haggett

Following the Roman funeral, Pell’s body will be repatriated to Australia and a service will be held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.

He will then be buried in the church’s crypt.

Upon hearing the news of the Cardinal’s death, Archbishop Timothy Costello made a statement on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

“Cardinal Pell provided strong and clear leadership of the Catholic Church in Australia,” he said. “I invited all Catholics and other people of goodwill to join in praying for Cardinal Pell, a man of deep and abiding faith, and for the repose of his soul.”