MOURNERS in west Belfast took a private moment to pay their respects to Archbishop Noel Treanor on Monday at St Peter’s Cathedral ahead of his funeral on Tuesday.
The 73-year-old former Bishop of Down and Connor died suddenly last Sunday in Belgium where heen working as the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the European Union.
A Requiem Mass had already taken place on Friday at the Church of the Notre-Dame au Sablon in Brussels, with his remains returned to Ireland on Saturday.
Originally from Tyholland in Co Monaghan, his remains had passed through his home parish on his journey to Belfast.
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With St Peter’s open to the public until 8pm on Monday, a Solemn Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 12pm, followed by burial i the Cathedral Chapel of the Resurrection.
Among the many messages of tribute was the current Bishop of Down and Connor, Alan McGuckian, who said Archbishop Treanor “will be remembered as a tremendously gifted academic, a proficient modern linguist, and a highly skilled diplomat”.