Cardinal’s cathedral funeral live-streamed

The funeral for Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, who died in Newcastle last week, will be held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Monday.

Cardinal Edward Cassidy. Picture: Armen Deushian

The funeral for Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, who died in Newcastle last week, will be held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Monday.

The cardinal passed away at age 96, after more than 70 years of service that saw him become one of the Australia’s most senior ­Vatican officials of all time.

Cardinal Cassidy was widely known for his friendly, down to earth attitude and high-level skill, and Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the talented leader would be greatly missed.

“Cardinal Cassidy showed not only diplomatic skill and political astuteness but also human ­authenticity and common sense,” he said.

“There was a simplicity in it all — the simplicity of a man called to high office in the church but with his eyes firmly on Jesus Christ.”

Born in 1924 in Sydney into humble circumstances, Cardinal Cassidy served in parish ministry in the Wagga Wagga diocese before moving to Rome to further his education.

For more than 30 years, he was a Vatican diplomat in Asia, ­Europe, Latin America and ­Africa, before eventually moving to work for the Secretariat of State, where he served for almost two years in a role equivalent to the Pope’s chief of staff.

He was elevated from serving as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 1989 to the rank of cardinal in 1991, one of only seven Australian cardinals.

Cardinal Cassidy, who was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1990 in recognition of his service, eventually retired in 2001 aged 76.

His funeral will commence at 10.30am and conclude at midday. It can be live-streamed through the St Mary’s Cathedral website.