In summary, term means “timeliness to the chamber” or “chamberlain”; Vatican position is currently occupied by Irish
The Vatican is a city-state that is within Rome, Italy, and acts as the headquarters of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church. This is where the Pope lives and where the whole bureaucratic structure of the Catholic religion works. One of the most relevant positions is Camerlengo, currently held by Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, 77 and of Irish nationality.
Camerlengo is an expression of medieval origin still used in some political ordinances in the 21st century. Derive from the word “camarlingus”And it comes from the phrancic“chamber”And Latin“camerarius”. In short, it means“ atadium to the chamber ”or“ chamberlain. ”That is, someone who is an advisor to a certain office or administrative body.
In the Catholic Church, the Camerlengo acts by providing personal assistance and directly to the Pope. It accompanies the Pontiff and is responsible for attesting to his death and coordinating the succession process.
According to O, its mission is “caring and managing the goods and temporal rights of the Apostolic See during the time it remains vacant”.
Cardinal Farrell has been a camerlengo since February 14, 2019, when he was appointed by Pope Francis.
O (21.br.2025) at the age of 88. With this, Farrell will take office interimly until Francisco’s successor is chosen.
In the period that encompasses the death of one Pope and the choice of another, the Camerlengo can:
- To request all the administrations dependent on the Holy See reports on the patrimonial and economic state itself, as well as information on the extraordinary matters that are underway;
- Request the board for the economy the budget and balance sheets consolidated by the Holy See in the previous year, as well as the budget for the following year;
- Ask the Secretariat for the economy any information about the economic situation of the Holy See.
The Camerlengo is also in charge of organizing the pontiff’s funeral and the ceremony held by 120 cardinals voters to choose the new pontiff. The choice should be started 15 to 20 days after the Pope’s death.
After elected the Pope, the new Camerlengo is nominated by him.
During the conclave, the function of Camerlengo is to guarantee, with the external collaboration of the substitute of the Secretariat of State, the closure of Casa Santa Marta, the Sistine Chapel and the environments intended for liturgical celebrations to unauthorized persons.
It is also his responsibility to receive the sweetening of the cardinals about the secret vote and to watch, with 3 assistants, that the confidentiality of the ceremony held in the Sistine Chapel is not violated.
When the new pontiff is chosen, the Camerlengo should ask the then cardinal if he accepts the outcome of the election.
Find out who Cardinal Farrell do Poder360.
Pope Francis’ death
Pope Francis (21.br.2025) at the age of 88. The pontiff was in 700 years. Your death: “At 7:35 am this morning [2h35 de Brasília], The bishop of Rome, Francisco, returned to the Father’s house. All his life was devoted to the service of the Lord and his church ”.
Francisco suffered from breathing problems. By 2023, he had spent 3 days hospitalized to treat bronchitis. In March 2024, he failed to give a speech during a Vatican ceremony.
Argentine born in the city of Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 2025 at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome, Italy, to treat bronchitis, but tests revealed bilateral pneumonia.
On February 22, the Vatican said that Francisco faced one and had to undergo a blood transfusion and that he “It was not out of danger”. The tests performed showed plateletopenia (decreased number of platelets in the blood) associated with anemia, which led to the need for transfusion. The religious and was recovering. His last public appearance was on Sunday (20.abr) ,.
Last words
On Sunday (20.br.2025), Francisco made an appearance on the porch of the Basilica of St. Peter, during the celebration of Easter in the Vatican. In the wheelchair and struggling to speak, the high pontiff wished a “happy Easter” to the faithful.
Then he passed the word to the master of ceremonies, Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who read the message “Urbi and the Orbi” (“To the city [de Roma] and to the world ”) of the Pope. In the end, he made the blessing before the thousands of faithful gathered in São Pedro Square.
In the message, the Pope urged politicians not to give in “To the logic of fear” And made an appeal to disarmament. “The need that each people feel to guarantee their own defense cannot become a widespread race to weaponry”he said.
Or conclave
With the death of Francisco, the cardinals – from origin of origin in Latin “cum clave”, Which means“key” – For the choice of 267º Dad. The ritual, which goes back to the 13th century, is held in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where cardinals under 80 come together to elect the new leader of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church. The amount of cardinals may vary as long as it does not exceed the limit of 120.
To be elected, a candidate needs to receive 2/3 of the votes. The result is transmitted to the audience present in the Vatican and the world through a smoke that comes out of a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. It is produced by burning voting banknotes with chemicals to give the desired color. THE black smoke It means that the Pope was not chosen and the vote will follow.
When a cardinal receives the necessary votes, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks if he accepts the position. If so, the elected chooses his papal name and the banknotes are burned with the chemicals that produce the white smokewhich will communicate to Choice of the new leader of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church.
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