Funeral of Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves

Pope John Paul II recalled Brazilian Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves' service to the Church and love for the poor, and street children, when he presided over his funeral last Wednesday. Cardinal Moreira Neves, prefect emeritus of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, died last on 8 September in Rome. He was 76. A former president of the Brazilian episcopal conference and archbishop of San Salvador da Bahia, Cardinal Neves was one of the outstanding Church figures in Latin America following the Second Vatican Council. The funeral Mass was celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, vice dean of the College of Cardinals. The Pope delivered the homily and recalled that the Cardinal began his priestly ministry working with families and young people. The Pope said Fr Neves also dedicated himself to giving spiritual assistance to intellectuals and journalists, as well as to theatre and movie actors. He said that although in his later years Fr Neves suffered from diabetes, he continued working selflessly. His mission was "more effective in virtue of his intimate union with the Lord." "Precisely, with this horizon of faith, our beloved brother lived all his life totally consecrated to God and to the service of the poorest, thus becoming a witness of that courageous faith that trusts God blindly." The Holy Father recalled especially the cardinal's work for the street children of Brazil, for whom he built a home and schools in San Salvador da Bahia. After the Mass, Cardinal Ratzinger said: "I admired his ability to explain things well, to mediate, to reconcile, but especially his theological charism." "He was a Dominican. He had studied in France, and had great theological formation," he added. "He was a man of great spirituality, profound faith and radiant warmth; an affable man." "I remember him as a spiritual man, a friend, in whom one felt his sympathy for men, enlightened by the love of Christ." source: Vatican Information Service