Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the senior Vatican official who announced Pope Francis' death on Monday morning, will serve as the interim manager of the Vatican until a new pope is elected, according to Church officials.

When the world learned of Pope Francis' death on Monday morning, a cardinal with longstanding ties to the US was the one to break the news. After announcing that the pope had "returned to the home of the Father",

Farrell spent nearly 10 years in Dallas, beginning in 2007, serving as the spiritual leader of the area’s Catholics.