He was once the third most important figure in the Vatican.
Cardinal George Pell, a former senior Catholic Church official, died in Rome on Tuesday at the age of 81.
Coming from a modest background in the Australian state of Victoria, George Pell rose through the ranks to become grand treasurer of the Vatican.
But his meteoric rise was marred by criminal convictions - later overturned - for sexually assaulting two Australian altar boys in the 1990s when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.
His supporters on Wednesday praised this modern-day "saint", but for victims of sexual violence in the Church, his death brought back painful memories.
"It is with great sadness that I can confirm that His Eminence, Cardinal George Pell, died in Rome" on Tuesday, Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher said in a statement sent to AFP.
“This news is a big shock for all of us,” he added.
In a telegram of condolences on Wednesday, Pope Francis expressed his "sorrow" and hailed a "faithful servant who, without wavering, followed his lord with perseverance even in ordeal".
Incarcerated for a year
According to the official Vatican News website, George Pell “died of complications following hip surgery” he underwent in a hospital in Rome.
His body will be transported to St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, the Australian Church said.
He had voluntarily returned to Australia in 2017 to face sex abuse charges, which he strenuously denied until his death.
In 2019, he was sentenced to six years in prison for the sexual assault in the 1990s of two altar boys in the sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.
Confirmed on appeal, his conviction was then overturned by the Australian High Court, and the prelate was released after 12 months of imprisonment.
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