According to tradition, the camerlengo certifies the pope’s death, seals the papal apartment and breaks the pope’s fisherman’s ring, as a symbol of a vacancy at the Holy See. He leads the procession accompanying the coffin into St.

The death of Pope Francis has resulted in a cardinal from the United States becoming the acting head of Vatican till a new pontiff is elected. Cardinal Kevin Farrell is a Dublin-born cleric who became a naturalised American citizen after spending several years ministering in the United States.