Scottish Catholic Observer

“Fear is not part of our experience today,” Cardinal Egan (above right) said after the attacks.

Funeral arrangements for the cardinal, who died last Thursday at 82, began on Monday with a two -hour private family visitation at 10am at New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral. The cathedral was open from noon until 6pm for public visitation and then a vigil Mass.

The funeral Mass on Tuesday was led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

“He loved this city, he loved his priests and his sisters and the parishes and especially the people,” Cardinal Dolan said.

Tuesday’s funeral began with a procession at 1.30pm. The entombment in the crypt below the cathedral immediately followed the Mass.

In lieu of flowers, New York Archdiocese is asking that memorial donations be made to the Inner-City College Fund and to the restoration of St Patrick’s Cathedral. A portrait of Cardinal Egan is set up inside St Patrick’s.

Pope Francis sent a telegram to Cardinal Dolan last Friday saying in part: “Having learned with sadness of the death of Cardinal Edward M Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York, I offer heartfelt condolences to you and to the Faithful of the archdiocese.”

“Cardinal Egan spread love and knowledge, and brought comfort to countless New Yorkers and others across the country and the world who sought his guidance and counsel—especially in the aftermath of 9/11,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

Parishioners also remembered him with fondness and respect.

“A person who has carried that much responsibility for representing the parish that includes one of the largest churches in North America is someone to be revered,” one parishioner said.

“We were mourning the passing of Cardinal Egan, he’s obviously a great man in the church,” another added.

“It’s sad day if you’re Catholic or you’re Christian, it’s a happy day because he’s going on to a better life,” said a third.

Cardinal Egan died in his Manhattan residence at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was pronounced dead at 2.20 pm local time at NYU Langone Medical Center, where he was taken after eating lunch at his residence, the archdiocese said in a statement. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Born in suburban Chicago, he was Archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009. In his retirement, he continued to serve the archdiocese and often attended events on behalf of Cardinal Dolan. A canon lawyer with an international reputation and an advocate of Catholic education, the late cardinal previously led Bridgeport Diocese, Connecticut, for 12 years but later faced criticism for his handling of a clergy sex abuse scandal there. He had also served in a variety of roles in Rome.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1932, Cardinal Egan was ordained a priest in 1957 and consecrated a bishop in 1985. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II to the College of Cardinals in 2001.