Retired Archbishop of LA Cardinal Mahony to witness sealing of Pope Francis' coffin (2025)

Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, will witness the sealing of the coffin of Pope Francis before a Vatican service that will include new papal funeral rites approved with simplified rituals meant emphasize his role as a humble pastor.

U.S. Cardinal Kevin Farrell will lead the ritual. Farrell and Mahony -- who was born in Hollywood and raised in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley -- will be joined by several other cardinals requested for their seniority. Once the casket is sealed, the funeral mass will follow on Saturday.

Following the funeral mass, Mahony will be part of the procession to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and be present for the burial of Pope Francis, who died Monday at age 88.

"I was stunned and felt honored when I received the news to have been chosen for these special roles," Cardinal Mahony said. "Pope Francis and I had a special friendship over the years, and we exchanged personal letters often.

"God’s surprises never seem to end, and I am joyful that someone from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was chosen for this role. It is yet another example of the importance of our wonderful Archdiocese. I carry out these roles with gratitude to the extraordinary Catholic community of Los Angeles under the leadership of Archbishop José Gomez, our Auxiliary Bishops, our priests and deacons, our men and women of Consecrated Life, and our outstanding lay Catholics. May our Risen Lord continue to bestow blessings upon all of us,” added the Archdiocese’s Archbishop Emeritus."

After the burial, a nine-day official mourning period with daily Masses begins before the conclave to choose the pope’s successor.

Mahony served in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which includes Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, for 40 years. He was appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles by Saint John Paul II in July 1985 and became a Cardinal in June 1991.

Sister Genevieve Jeanningros was given permission to break protocol while viewing Pope Francis’ coffin at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday.

Mahony, the Senior Cardinal Priest of the 204 Cardinal Priests in Rome, retired at the age of 75 on in March 2011.

After his retirement, his successor announced that Mahony will no longer play an administrative or public role in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which has a sizeable Roman Catholic population of 4.3 million as of 2005. Mahony was accused of covering up child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Mahony was asked about the controversy Friday at the Vatican.

"There are always going to be negative voices, no matter what goes on in the world," Mahony said Friday. "My role is to be a good priest and a good priest and continue doing the work of Jesus. And, if I've made a lot of mistakes in the past, I made mistakes in the past. I can't go back and undo them, but I regret them and I'm sorry for them. But we've got to move forward, too."

Mahony will not be part of the papal conclave to choose a new pope.

At midday Friday in Los Angeles, Southern Californians will join Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez for a memorial Mass in memory of Pope Francis. The 12:10 p.m. Mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles will include auxiliary bishops and other clergy of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the first Latin American Pope has been lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica. He is dressed in red liturgical vestments and his hands are folded, holding a rosary.

Francis had been diagnosed with chronic lung disease and admitted to a hospital on Feb. 14 for a respiratory episode that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days in the hospital and made his final public appearance on Easter Sunday -- blessing the faithful in St. Peter's Square while sitting in a wheelchair.

The Los Angeles archdiocese has created a special webpage -- LACatholics.org/pope-francis -- dedicated to Francis. It includes Gomez's statement, homily, and other writings on Francis, as well as videos, images and other resources. The archdiocese said the page will be updated with information on Masses and other events during the Novendiales, the nine-day period of mourning for a deceased Pope.