In his homily for the occasion, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, described the cardinal as a “lion of the Church”, a “giant of a man with a big vision” who proclaimed the Gospel “shamelessly, vehemently, courageously to the end”.

The Holy Father, who had praised the Cardinal for keeping his faith “with perseverance even in the hour of trial,” arrived in St Peter’s Basilica at the end of the Mass to preside over the final rite of commendation, as he usually does for cardinals who die in Rome.

Just as Pope Benedict dedicated his pontificate to directing the faithful’s focus to the person of Christ, Pope Francis dedicated his homily to Christ’s loving devotion and suffering witness as the “invitation and the program of life that he quietly inspires in us,” rather than on a summary of his predecessor’s life.

The 5 January funeral Mass for Pope Benedict XVI will be a papal funeral with a few changes to fit with the fact that he was not the reigning pope and has not left behind a “sede vacante.”

A quiet hush covered the vast expanse of St Peter’s Square even though it was filled with thousands of people slowly winding their way around the colonnade into St Peter’s Basilica to pay their last respects to the late Pope Benedict XVI.