Cardinal Edward Egan — the former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York who died Thursday at the age of 82 — made "tremendous" contributions to the church, his longtime friend, Monsignor Hilary Franco, told
Newsmax TV.
"I was so shocked," Franco, who visited with Egan only a few days ago, said on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
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"We always talked about our health problems because he was only a few months older than me. We were reminiscing about all that.
"He really made a tremendous mark in the history of this Archdiocese and also in the history of the world."
Egan was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 p.m., after suffering a heart attack at his Manhattan home.
He was promoted to cardinal in 2001, but retired eight years later after being hospitalized with heart problems and fitted with a pacemaker.
Franco, adviser at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, said he and Egan spent 14 years at the Vatican together.
"First of all, he was a tremendous and accomplished [scholar], namely an expert in law and he was so close to [Pope] John Paul II because he was his American, he used to call him my American professor," Franco said.
"In 1985, he became auxiliary bishop of New York. He was here with us … until he was named bishop of Bridgeport.
"Finally, in 2000, he took the place of John Cardinal O'Connor as Archbishop of New York, my archbishop. We were friends and then all of a sudden he became truly my archbishop."
Franco said he'll particularly remember Egan's whimsical style.
"He had a tremendous, sometimes dry sense of humor, but that humor was really resonating all over the place, wherever we were," he said.
"At the same time, he did so much for the church in New York. I do have to tell you that he was well known in the business world by so many benefactors.
"He was a catalyst for people who wanted to help the church and the Holy Father … Even though he was originally from Chicago, he [fit in] so beautifully in this great city of ours."
According to USA Today, Egan's successor, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, said of Egan:
"Thank God he had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch today, with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary, Father Douglas Crawford, in his residence at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary."