Cardinal George Pell’s Funeral, in 6 Magnificent Dimensions| National Catholic Register
TheOldRoman
COMMENTARY: In the heat of a summer Sydney morning, a singular funeral marked the end of a singular life.
Cardinal George Pell’s funeral Mass drew thousands of mourners to Sydney’s St. Mary’s Cathedral Feb. 2, 2023. (photo: Giovanni Portelli / The Catholic Weekly)
SYDNEY — The cathedral of Sydney is one of the grandest liturgical settings anywhere, a monumental stage for the great drama of salvation to be made present.
In its 150-plus years, St. Mary’s has never been witness to an event quite like the funeral of the late Cardinal George Pell, a great drama in its own right. It was a sacred pageant which unfolded in six magnificent dimensions — liturgical, musical, spiritual, historical, hagiographical and memorial.
I offer an account of what I saw, but my vision was blurry; many times during the nearly four hours my eyes were filled with tears.
Liturgical
The funeral of Cardinal Pell was just that — a Catholic funeral, recognizable as such to anyone who has ever attended a simply parish funeral. The ancient hymn for the dead, Dies Irae,speaks of the Rex tremendae maiestatis (King of tremendous majesty). Before that throne the liturgy has a certain equalizing tendency. Even the great Habsburg emperors were buried as “poor sinners.”
At the same time, the liturgy, performed expertly, can accommodate the grandeur fitting for a giant of the age. Such was the case at St. Mary’s. A procession of more than 200 priests and dozens of bishops signals that, as does a congregation that spills out of an enormous cathedral into the square outside.
Every note was perfect. The liturgy provides painfully poignant moments, as when Michael Casey, Cardinal Pell’s former private secretary, read Romans 8:
When God acquits, could anyone condemn? … Nothing therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or being threatened or even attacked.
Every liturgical act is intended to insert those present into the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. A funeral Mass does so easily, as the deceased is evidently in need of the promises made by the Risen Jesus, present in the Holy Eucharist. The subtle change in the Agnus Dei indicates that precisely: dona eis requiem (grant them rest) replaces the usual miserere nobis (have mercy on us). The Paschal mystery is a cosmic reality; it is also the answer to the mystery of each individual human life, including the life of a cardinal.
