His Eminence Cardinal George Pell was farewelled by faithful from across the Diocese of Broken Bay on Monday night, in a Mass attended by 200 people including friends and family of the late cleric.
There was hardly a spare seat in Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara, as Vicar General Dr David Ranson presided over the Mass, in place of Bishop Anthony Randazzo who is on leave.
In his homily, Fr David reflected on the “formidable nature” of Cardinal Pell, calling him “a colossus in the Church in Australia and internationally.
“The Cardinal was complex, enigmatic, an unmistakable force, completely at home in the halls of power and equally at home with people living off the street,” he said. “We are unlikely to see another with such an indomitable spirit in our generation.”
“He was in the true sense of the word, a phenomenon: by definition, “something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully” – not least because of a most curious coalescence of features in his character and demeanour that meant he bore the vivid projection of such diverse persons and associations.”
Fr David also reflected on his own personal relationship with Cardinal Pell, who he knew from his time at Tarrawarra Abbey.
“I knew him cooking me breakfast when I would return to the monastery refectory after milking in the dairy,” said Fr David.
Cardinal Pell, then Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, ordained Fr David a deacon, beginning a professional relationship between the two that would often see them cross paths on and off again over several decades in both Melbourne and Sydney.
The Mass at the Cathedral came just days after Cardinal Pell was farewelled at a Requiem Mass in Rome on Saturday morning, in the presence of the Pope, cardinals, family and close friends.
While many of the faithful gathered in Broken Bay may not have shared the same close relationship with the Cardinal, the Mass was a poignant opportunity to reflect on his relentless service to the Church in Australia through several decades, as a priest, bishop and then cardinal.
Cardinal Pell’s body will be returned to Sydney in the coming days. A Requiem Mass will take place at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney before he is laid to rest in the Cathedral’s crypt.
Very Rev Dr David Ranson’s homily can be read in full here.