By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: Pope Francis will lead the funeral service of Cardinal Ivan Dias in Rome.
According to a message from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the Church has decided to conduct the funeral in Rome respecting the late cardinal’s wish. Cardinal Dias, former archbishop of Bombay, died on Jun 19 in Rome. He was 81.
The cardinal lived in Rome since his retirement as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
CBCI president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis and other three Cardinals from India will represent the Indian Church at the funeral. The cardinals are in Rome to participate in the forthcoming Consistory, says the June 20 message from CBCI deputy secretary general Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan.
The CBCI secretary general Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas is also in Rome. All these prelates will represent the Church in India for the funeral of one of its great sons, the message added.
On June 20, the Archdiocese of Bombay organized a memorial Mass for the cardinal at the Cathedral of the Holy Name.