Pope recalls Archbishop Treanor’s ‘devout and faithful’ service

By Antonella Palermo

Pope Francis, in a message signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, expressed his gratitude for the “dedicated and faithful” service of Archbishop Noel Treanor, Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, who died on August 11.

The funeral took place on Tuesday 20 August at St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast, with burial in the cathedral’s Chapel of the Resurrection.

Bishop Alan McGuckian, SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor, celebrated the Requiem Mass, with the current Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin, and Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh, concelebrating.

The Vatican was represented by concelebrants: Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, as well as representatives of the Secretariat of State, including Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations; Archbishop Luciano Russo, Secretary for Pontifical Presentations; Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland; and Archbishops Michael Crotty and Seamus Horgan, Apostolic Nuncios to Nigeria and South Sudan respectively.

Ecumenical delegations representing the Presbyterian Church, Bangor Abbey of the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church were also present.

Gratitude for “dedicated and faithful service”

In a message read at the funeral by Archbishop Montemayor, Pope Francis expressed his spiritual closeness to Archbishop Treanor’s family, especially his brother John and sister Mary, and extending to the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Down and Connor.

“Expressing his deep gratitude for Archbishop Treanor’s dedicated and faithful service to the people of God in this local Church, to the wider Irish society, to the Commission of Episcopal Conferences of the European Union and, most recently, to the Apostolic See, His Holiness joins you in commending his soul to the loving mercy of Christ, the Good Shepherd.”

Strengthening the relationship between faith and culture

In his homily during the Mass, Bishop McGuckian remembered Bishop Treanor as a man who was able to forge strong bonds of friendship, to stay connected to his family with affection and gratitude, and to teach younger generations the core values ​​of Catholic social teaching in a changing world that needs the justice, fraternity and lay commitment in which he believed so much.

The bishop began his reflection by recalling several anecdotes from Treanor’s adolescence – including the time when the first television set appeared in the house, the management of which had given rise to quarrels between the brothers, which had led their father to decide to remove it in order to avoid futile and harmful quarrels over material matters.

Bishop McGuckian used this story to underscore the late Nuncio’s crucial and unwavering commitment to building a strong relationship between faith and culture. It was a commitment the Nuncio took from the teaching of John Paul II and made his own: “The faith that does not become culture is not fully embraced, nor fully thought, nor faithfully lived.”

Trust in each baptized person for the mission of the Church

Bishop McGuckian, who worked with Archbishop Treanor in Down and Connor on the Living Church project and later in the Irish Bishops’ Conference, particularly on justice and peace, also highlighted Treanor’s true dream that “all the baptized, clergy, laity and religious work together for the mission of the Church and for the common good.”

Archbishop Treanor, he continued, “admired equally the priest who ministered with joy, the businessman who worked and provided jobs that kept many people employed, the religious who were on the front lines of poverty and injustice, the teachers who strove to create a better society through Catholic education and to bring Christ to young people.”

Passion for the European project

Bishop McGuckian then highlighted Bishop Treanor’s deep commitment to the European project, “born of a desire to forge a common and life-giving culture in a situation of terrible division that was manifested at its worst in the horrific excesses of the Second World War.”

The Nuncio noted that “the great leaders of the nations recently at war had striven to create something in common that was authentically secular and inclusive. They were convinced, like Noel, that the most reliable source of values ​​that could carry such a bold project was the Gospel of Jesus.”

Protection of life and justice against all war

Recalling Archbishop Treanor’s 2018 pastoral letter to students and young adults—inspired by Pope Francis’ messages for peace—Bishop McGuckian revealed “a sense of frustration that the glorious heritage of Catholic social teaching is not constantly before our eyes and on our lips.”

This led to the conclusion of the bishop’s homily, emphasizing “how important these medieval principles of ‘proportionality, justice and protection of life’ are in relation to the wars raging before our eyes today, most notably in Gaza and Ukraine.”