While the conclave chooses a new Pope, the Vatican figure that will have the most public relevance will be a 77-year-old cardinal born in Ireland, although he has carried out most of his pastoral activity outside of that country: Cardinal Kevin Farrell, whose official position is Vatican Camerlengo.
The role of Camerlengo is key to ensuring that the papal succession occurs in an orderly manner. He is in charge of formalizing the news of the Pontiff's death, organizing the practical aspects of the conclave that will elect the new Pope, all protocol issues - including funeral planning - and, finally, maintaining the bureaucratic and political structure of the Vatican until the successor to Francis arrives.
"Camerlengo" derives from the Latin "camerarius," meaning "chamberlain", a political and administrative position historically responsible for managing the assets of a sovereign or a Pope. Paradoxically, the Vatican's "chamberlain" has very limited functions when there is a Pope. However, when the Pope dies, practically all the weight of the Church - except, obviously, the spiritual aspects, which are left for the next Pontiff - falls on his shoulders.
Farrell, who has been in the position for almost six years, was born in one of the most Catholic countries in Europe, Ireland, although he has carried out most of his pastoral activity in the United States and in the Vatican, with periods and responsibilities in Spain, Mexico, and Italy. His typically Irish surname evokes influence around the Chair of St. Peter. Not in vain, his older brother, Brian, was a bishop and, until his retirement 13 months ago, led the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, of which he is now secretary emeritus. He was also vice president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, an organization created by Paul VI in 1974.
Neither Kevin nor Brian Farrell ever practiced the priesthood in their native Ireland. However, both were educated in Salamanca. Shortly after completing their Bachelor's degrees with the Christian Brothers - an Irish congregation -, Brian first, and Kevin three years later, moved to the city of Salamanca in Castile to pursue their university studies. It is not clear whether they did so at the public university or at the Pontifical University in that city. According to the Vatican's website, Kevin Farrell obtained his university degree in the city of Tormes, although it does not specify in what field.
The current Camerlengo also studied at the Gregorian University and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas - the latter colloquially known as Angelicum - where he obtained a Master's in Philosophy and a Bachelor's in Theology, although the Irish Times claims he earned that degree in Salamanca. At the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States, he later obtained a Master's in Business Administration (MBA).
According to the Irish Times, in 1966, at the age of 29, Farrell joined the Legionaries of Christ, the congregation founded by Marcial Maciel, who would later be involved in one of the worst cases of sexual abuse in the history of the Catholic Church. In 1978, he was ordained a priest and served as chaplain at the University in Monterrey, Mexico. Farrell was the general administrator of the Legionaries of Christ for Mexico, Spain, and Italy, with responsibility for the organization's educational centers in the three countries.
Over the next two and a half decades, Farrell held various ecclesiastical positions in the United States, mainly in the capital, Washington, and its surroundings. In 1984, he was appointed parish priest in Bethesda, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city, technically located in the state of Maryland. Two years later, thanks to his command of Spanish, he was appointed director of the Spanish Catholic Center of the Archdiocese of Washington. In 2011, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the U.S. capital and in 2017, of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas.
In Dallas, Farrell had his most publicized event when he led the public prayer on the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of the first Catholic president of the United States, John F. Kennedy (the other being Joe Biden). The event had great symbolism and a touch of lightness when some Americans said that, despite the bishop having spent six decades away from his native Ireland, he still had such a strong accent that would have undoubtedly pleased the Kennedy ancestors.
The activities of Farrell in the U.S. have not been without controversy due to his personal closeness to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who died on the 3rd of this month after being laicized by Pope Francis due to his sexual abuse of minors. McCarrick was Farrell's mentor when he was building his career as an auxiliary bishop in Washington, and according to some, the Camerlengo was aware of his activities and turned a blind eye.
It does not seem that Francis, who practiced a zero tolerance policy towards clergy sexual abuse of minors, paid much attention to those rumors. Nevertheless, in 2019, perhaps impressed by how Farrell had organized his visit to Ireland, the Pope decided to appoint him Camerlengo so that he could organize the Church when he was no longer at its helm.