Cardinal George Pell’s funeral has begun within the Cathedral St Peter’s Basilica on the Vatican.
Pell’s closed darkish brown picket coffin has been carried into St Peter’s Basilica for a mass to be mentioned by the dean of the School of Cardinals, Italian Giovanni Battista Re.
Pope Francis will give the ultimate blessing and commendation.
Pell, 81, who spent greater than a 12 months in jail earlier than being acquitted of sexual abuse allegations in Australia, died on Tuesday evening in a Rome hospital of coronary heart failure following hip surgical procedure.
Pell will probably be buried within the crypt at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, the place he served as archbishop.
