Cardinal Francis George, the “hometown Chicagoan” who oversaw one of the largest flocks in the U.S. succumbed to cancer on Friday, slipping peacefully into eternity while surrounded by loved ones.

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Cardinal Francis George died at his residence in Chicago on Friday morning at approximately 10:45 a.m. after a long and very public battle with cancer. He was 78 years old.

“He was very much aware that the moment was coming, that the suffering was coming,” said Father Peter Wojcik about his dying friend who he saw just two weeks before his death.

Wojcik told ABCNews that the Cardinal felt the suffering, didn’t enjoy it, and was very vocal about that fact.

“At the same time, at one point, he took my hand and said, ‘Peter, I’m ready.'”

Cardinal George was the first Archbishop of Chicago to actually come from the city. Born on January 16, 1937, he grew up in St. Pascal’s parish on the northwest side of Chicago. He survived polio at the age of 13 and answered the Lord’s call at the age of 20 when he joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in August, 1957. He was ordained a priest at St. Pascal’s Church on December 21, 1963.

He was appointed Bishop of Yakima, Washington in 1990 by St. John Paul II, then moved on to become Archbishop of Portland. In 1997, he was installed as the eighth Archbishop of Chicago and was elevated to the College of Cardinals a year later.

Cardinal George was known as “the Corrector” in Chicago for his adherence to Church teaching and boldly professed the Gospel even while confronting some of the thorniest issues of the day.

He made no excuses for the sex abuse scandals that rocked his Archdiocese, particularly the case of former priest Daniel McCormack who continued to abuse children even after the Archdiocese said it took steps to prevent those crimes from being committed.

“Your mistakes haunt you, sometimes,” the Cardinal told ABC Eyewitness News anchor Alan Krashesky in 2013. “I wish this hadn’t happened, wish that hadn’t happened and I hope I’ve learned from them,” he continued.

The Cardinal was initially diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006 and thought he had beat it until 2012 when doctors discovered it had returned and was now infecting his kidney and liver. The cancer became even more aggressive in the spring of 2014  when he was enrolled in an experimental cancer therapy, However, the therapy was not successful. A few months ago, he admitted to reporters that there were no more options for him.

One of the last people to speak to him was his long-time friend and former Communications chief, Colleen Dolan, who had been in Santiago, Chile giving a speech for the Vatican. She had spoken to the Cardinal before she left, asking him “not to do anything dumb and stupid” while she was away – such as die.

“He promised he wouldn’t die until I got back, so I could tell him all about the conference. He kept his word,” Dolan told the Sun Times.

Sure enough, he called her on Thursday night just after her return and they discussed the trip for more than an hour. During that time, he said nothing about himself and was very interested in all that had occurred while she was in Chile.

Although she was planning to visit him the next day, Dolan received a call in the early morning hours asking her to come to the Cardinal’s residence.

When she arrived, he was still breathing, but very softly.

Surrounding him was his cousin, Bishop Raymond Goedert, his sister Margaret Cain, and the sisters who worked at the residence.

Dolan picked up his hand and held it as he quietly passed into eternity.

“A man of peace, tenacity, and courage has been called home,” said Archbishop Blase Cupich at Holy Name Cathedral shortly after the Cardinal’s death.

“Let us heed his example and be a little more brave, a little more steadfast and a lot more loving. This is the surest way to honor his life and celebrate his return to the presence of God.”

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon Him.

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