PAPAL TRIBUTE TO ARCHBISHOP NOËL TREANOR AS DISTINGUISHED PRELATE IS LAID TO REST

A papal message expressing gratitude for Archbishop Noël Treanor’s “devoted and faithful service” was read to mourners at his funeral in St Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast on Tuesday. Archbishop Treanor, originally from Silverstream, Tyholland, was serving as Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union when he passed away suddenly in Brussels at the age of 73 on Sunday August 11.

He was formerly Bishop of the Diocese of Down and Connor. During the Requiem Mass at the West Belfast cathedral, where hundreds gathered to pay their last respects, apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, read out a letter from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin conveying the sentiments of Pope Francis. This stated: “Saddened to learn of the untimely death of Archbishop Noël Treanor, apostolic nuncio to the European Union and former Bishop of Down and Connor, his Holiness Pope Francis sends heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to the members of his family, especially his brother John and his sister Mary, and to you…