An Irish-born American cardinal was entrusted by Pope Francis to be the camerlengo, the Vatican official who runs the Holy See after the death of one pontiff and before the election of another.

Following Pope Francis' death Monday at age 88, the Vatican will have an acting head until a new pontiff is chosen during the conclave process. That acting head, or camerlengo, is Cardinal Kevin Farrell,

Navarrosa, who is currently writing his thesis on the pope’s 2016 encyclical 'Amoris Laetitia,' recalls meeting Francis in 2021 and says he had hoped to meet him again. “I’m not worried about the future of the church, because it is guided by the Holy Spirit,” he says.

Worshippers will flock to the Vatican in the coming days to farewell Pope Francis, including the Cardinals who will elect his successor. Former representative to the Holy See, Sir David Moxon, says the Pope chose most of the Cardinals - so he'd expect them to value a warm and loving Church.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Buenos Aires, never set foot in his homeland after becoming Pope Francis in 2013. That left many of the faithful in Argentina feeling puzzled and snubbed by the world’s first Latin American pope.

The death of Francis was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell , the Irish-born Vatican camerlengo, a position that will be important in the coming weeks as he takes charge of the administration of the Holy See until a new pope is elected.