Archbishop Francis Carroll has been remembered as a "good man" with a great sense of humour and a love for the farm life.
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Archbishop Carroll, better known as Father Frank, died peacefully at Calvary Hospital on Thursday at 93 years old.
His life was celebrated with a solemn pontifical mass, which was attended by hundreds of people, at St Michael's Cathedral in Wagga on Wednesday.
Following the service, Catholic Diocese priests formed a guard of honour as Archbishop Carroll's casket was carried from the cathedral.
Archbishop Carroll was born to parents Patrick and Rose Mary in Ganmain on September 9, 1930, and was the second-eldest of seven children.
The family grew up on a farm, travelling to school by horse and cart, attending every Sunday mass and having rosary every night.
While a respected and well-known member of the Catholic community and a widely-loved person, he was more than a church leader.
In delivering a eulogy, Reverend Kevin O'Reilly said Archbishop Carroll was a good man.
"He was a true farm boy, milking the cows, rounding up the horses, and he was a pretty good handyman, in fact he was very proud and would tell anyone who would listen that he built the outside dunny," Reverend O'Reilly said.
"He was competitive, he was a good man and he had a great sense of humour.
"He loved all things sport, and he loved Ganmain."
Archbishop Carroll would often rally his family together to take on an opposing team in sport and was a known supporter of Sydney Swans.
Church and his faith - alongside family, Ganmain and all things sport - were his deepest loves in life.
Attending church was peaceful and joyous for Archbishop Carroll, who was quoted saying many times that "church was an extended family and was as natural as breathing".
His educational years were spent at Devlin School and St Brendan's Convent in Ganmain, before attending De La Salle College in Marrickville, and eventually Urbanian University in Rome.
He was ordained deacon by Cardinal Norman Gilroy in 1953 at just 24 years old and was ordained a priest in July 1954, at his home church in Ganmain, St Brendan's, by then-Wagga Bishop Francis Augustine Henschke.
His journey with the church saw him work in the Griffith and Albury parishes, and become Wagga chancellor and first director of Catholic education in 1965.
Archbishop Carroll became Bishop of Wagga in 1968 after being ordained a coadjutor bishop for Bishop Henschke and eventually assumed that role.
He remained in the role until he transferred to the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn in June 1983 to be installed as Archbishop, serving that diocese until his retirement 23 years later in 2006.
A burial service will take place in the crypt of St Christopher's Cathedral in Canberra at 11am on Thursday.