On 20 August, Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast was full to capacity for the Funeral Mass of the Archbishop Noel Treanor RIP, the celebration of which was led by Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor. Before Mass concluded, His Excellency Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, addressed the congregation.
The Papal Nuncio read a message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, saying, “I have been asked by the Secretariat of State to transmit the following message to you:
“The Most Reverend Alexander Aloysius McGuckian, Bishop of Down and Connor.
“Saddened to learn of the untimely death of Archbishop Noël Treanor, Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union and former Bishop of Down and Connor, his Holiness Pope Francis sends heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to the members of his family, especially his brother John and his sister Mary, and to you, the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese.
“Expressing deep gratitude for Archbishop Treanor’s devoted and faithful service to the people of God in this local church, to wider Irish society, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, and most recently to the Apostolic See, his Holiness joins you in commending his soul to the loving mercy of Christ the Good Shepherd.
“To those gathered for the Mass of Christian Burial and to all who mourn the late Archbishop in the sure hope of the Resurrection, the Holy Father cordially imparts his blessing as a pledge of peace and consolation in the Lord.
“On behalf of the superiors of the Secretariat of State, and in my own name, I send sympathies together with our prayers for Archbishop Treanor’s eternal rest.”
ENDS
