Irish bishop says there is 'a little bit of national pride' to see Dublin man in charge of Vatican

Cardinal Kevin Farrell  had the role of announcing the Pope's death and is currently carrying out the administrative and financial duties of the Holy See until a new pope takes over. Picture: AP /Paolo Santalucia

An Irish bishop at the Vatican has told of the tears shed among colleagues for Pope Francis, and a sense of "national pride" for Irish people that a Dublin man is overseeing arrangements until a new pontiff is elected.

Bishop Paul Tighe, who has been based at the Vatican for 17 years, said while Francis had been unwell, there was still a sense of shock about his death on Easter Monday, followed by a "madness" as people were "scattering to get back from wherever they were" over the holiday weekend.

On the eve of what will be a massive papal funeral, Bishop Tighe said while "the machine has kicked in fairly quickly" in terms of preparations for what comes next, there is still a sense of real loss among those in the Vatican for a man dubbed the people's pope.

The 67-year-old said: "The first emotion for most people is probably a sense of shock. We kind of knew this was coming, but it's like when an elderly relative dies, you might be waiting but when the moment comes, it's kind of a shock, and you suddenly realise you're in a new position.

"In the last few days, I've seen many of my colleagues — we all found a moment to go up and visit the body — lots of tears, not just the stoic 'let's move on'.

"Lots of tears, lots of sadness for so many people."

He described the "very poignant" time he had spent with Francis's remains in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta earlier this week before the coffin was moved to St Peter's Basilica, where tens of thousands of mourners have paid their respects in recent days.

He said: "It's losing the person who set his tone and direction. It's also losing a person who had recovered enormous credibility for the Church in and through his own person.

"But also, even more, he was a voice for peace and a voice for justice at a time when the world has real need to hear that voice."

Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell — the camerlengo or senior Vatican official — had the role of announcing the Pope's death and is currently carrying out the administrative and financial duties of the Holy See until a new pope takes over.

Bishop Tighe said: "At the moment the meetings that are happening with the cardinals, deciding 'when will we go into conclave, how do we want to prepare for that?' He has a key role in that."

Bishop Tighe — who is secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education — said while Cardinal Farrell will do the job well, he is certain the position "would not have been his dream job".

He said: "I know Kevin a bit. He's from Dublin, but he's a long time gone from Ireland, and he's very marked by his years in America.

"I think this would not have been his dream job, that I can say with absolute freedom. He's not a man who looks for that kind of stuff, but he's very effective. And I think now that he's working there, he'll be good. He has a task to do, and he'll get at it, and he'll do it well."

He said there is "obviously a little bit of national pride" that an Irish-born man is at the helm.

He added: "I don't know back at home to what extent, but for the Irish here, there's a few of us working around the place, there's a little bit of fun in pointing out to our colleagues that the Irish are now in a new position."