Archbishop Noël Treanor remembered at Belfast funeral

Pope Francis sent his “heartfelt condolences” to the family of the late Archbishop Noël Treanor and the people of the Diocese of Down and Connor, saying he was “saddened” to learn of his “untimely death”.

The papal message of condolence was read out at Archbishop Treanor’s funeral Mass in St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast, on Tuesday by the apostolic nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayo.

Its author Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, said the Pope expressed his “deep gratitude” for Archbishop Treanor’s “devoted and faithful service to the people of God in this local church, to wider Irish society, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, and most recently to the Apostolic See”.

The Pope joined with mourners “in commending his soul to the loving mercy of Christ the Good Shepherd”.

The 73-year-old former Bishop of the Down and Connor and apostolic nuncio to the EU died in Brussels on 11 August after suffering a heart attack.

His funeral Mass on Tuesday was attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle, who represented the King, as well as representatives for President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Simon Harris.

Ireland’s European Commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, as well as other political and religious representatives, including Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, attended the service.

The chief celebrant at the Requiem Mass was Bishop Alan McGuckian of Down and Connor. The chief mourners were Archbishop Treanor’s brother John and sister Mary and their families.

In his homily, Bishop McGuckian described Noël Treanor as “a family man and much-loved friend of many people”.

He said his predecessor in the diocese was “a very accomplished individual: a priest, a bishop, an archbishop, a papal nuncio”. While all of those things were hugely important, said McGuckian, on his funeral day the most important thing was that Noël Treanor was baptised and born into new life in Christ.

He recalled Archbishop Treanor’s love for his parents and his brother and sister, and their families, as well as his many cousins with whom he remained close throughout his life.

“The capacity for strong bonds of friendship that he shared with so many people, also beyond the confines of kinship, was born in the family home,” Bishop McGuckian recalled.

“Noël learned early – and he greatly valued the lesson – that a good life will be one based on principles and values that have to be learned and put into practice. There was no doubt that the values espoused and expected in that Catholic home in Co. Monaghan in the 1950s were based on the Gospel and the teaching of Jesus and his Church.”

He continued: “Later in Noël’s life when he heard Pope John Paul II, and more recently Pope Francis, say that it is the duty of every generation of believers to ensure that ‘faith must become culture’, Noël will have understood instinctively what he meant because he knew that he had seen it happen in his own family home. Pope John Paul II said: ‘Faith that does not become culture is not wholly embraced, fully thought out, or faithfully lived.’”

Speaking of his own memories, Bishop McGuckian said it had been a “great privilege” to work with Archbishop Noël in Down and Connor in the “Living Church” project and later as part of the Irish Bishops’ Conference and in their shared work in justice and peace.

“His dream for the diocese was of all the baptised, clergy, laity and religious working together for the mission of the Church and for the common good. He admired equally the priest who ministered with joy, the businessperson who worked and provided jobs that sustained many people in work, the religious who were to be found on the front lines of poverty and injustice, the teachers who strove to make a better society through Catholic education and to bring Christ to young people.”

Bishop McGuckian noted that many people had gathered in Brussels last Friday to give thanks for Archbishop Treanor’s work in the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (Comece), Justice & Peace Europe and his most recent role as apostolic nuncio to the European Union.

The Église Notre-Dame des Victoires du Sablon in Brussels held a Mass for the repose of Archbishop Treanor. The principal celebrant was Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels. He concelebrated with Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ and Mgr Mariano Crociata, president of Comece.

“All of us who worked with him in all of these different arenas will have witnessed his teasing out, in very sophisticated ways, the essential link between faith and culture. We all know about his deep commitment to the European project. That was born out of a desire to forge a shared, life-giving culture in a situation of terrible division manifested at its worst in the horrible excesses of the Second World War,” Bishop McGuckian said.

“Noël saw that the great leaders of the recently warring nations had striven to create something in common that was authentically secular and inclusive. They were convinced, as was Noël, that the most reliable source for the values that could carry such a bold project was the Gospel of Jesus.”

He said Archbishop Treanor “dearly wanted to share his passion for Catholic Social Teaching” with all, especially young Catholics. He wanted young people to be schooled in the social teaching of the Church.

In his view, the role of committed Catholics in the formation of a new world order would not be to “impose” their vision, but to invite and “propose” a wholesome culture “worthy of human beings created in the Image of God, a culture inspired by the truth, justice and mercy taught to us by the Lord Jesus”.

After the Requiem Mass, Archbishop Treanor was buried in the cathedral’s Chapel of the Resurrection.

Ahead of the funeral on Tuesday, Archbishop Treanor’s remains travelled through his native Co. Monaghan after their return to Ireland from Brussels and made a brief stop at St Macartan’s Cathedral, where he was ordained in 1976.

The Co Monaghan-native, who was born on Christmas Day 1950 in Tyholland, attended St Patrick’s College in Maynooth before studying in Rome. He served as a priest in Monaghan, Rackwallace and Enniskillen.

During his years in the Diocese of Clogher he also worked as Director of Adult Education and Coordinator the Diocesan Assembly of Clergy.

A member of the Council for European Affairs of the Irish Bishops Conference, he was Secretary-General of Comece from 1993 until his appointment as Bishop of Down and Connor in 2008.

He was ordained a bishop in St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast, on 29 June 2008. He was appointed to the EU by Pope Francis in 2022 and took up the role in January 2023.

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