Cardinal George Pell’s memorial service is underway on the Vatican.
Earlier Pell’s closed darkish brown wood coffin was positioned on the ground within the church of St Stephen of the Abyssinians contained in the Vatican partitions.
His coffin was then moved inside St Peter’s Basilica for the service.
The mass is being presided over by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Italian Giovanni Battista Re, which is a convention for deceased cardinals.
It is known the Pope won’t be current for many of the service nonetheless he will probably be there on the finish for the valediction.
There is concept Pell was extremely important of Pope Francis, in writing, earlier than his loss of life this week.
Pell died on the age of 81 in Rome after coronary heart problems following hip alternative surgical procedure.
A prime adviser to Pope Francis and probably the most highly effective figures within the Vatican, Pell confronted criticism for his response to youngster sexual abuse allegations throughout the church and was himself jailed on historic costs in a conviction that was later quashed.
Pell, the highest-ranking Catholic official to be jailed over youngster sexual abuse allegations, at all times maintained his innocence however spent greater than a yr in jail earlier than the High Court overturned the choice in 2020.
Born in Ballarat in 1941, Pell went on to rise by means of the ranks of the Catholic church, serving as each Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney earlier than rising to turn into the third strongest official on the Vatican.
