Dean Jack Shearer died after a heart attack

Monsignor Tom Toner, administrator of St Peter's Catholic Cathedral in west Belfast, with whom Dean Shearer forged a partnership between the two Belfast cathedrals, also attended.

In his funeral address, long-time friend of Dean Shearer, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Dr James Mehaffy, paid tribute to the work he had done to help the whole community in Belfast.

Bishop Mehaffy said the partnership between St Anne's and St Peter's which he had helped to develop was "like a candle in the darkness of our divided society which won't go out".

He added: "He was much more than the dean of a St Anne's Cathedral. He was Dean of Belfast and he demonstrated in all that he did that this was an appropriate and accurate title. You could say he was also dean of charity and dean of partnership.

"He was a man for all the people, who was loved by all the people.

"Many came into touch with him through the special services in the cathedral representing a wide range of community interests and causes.

"More than anything else it was his annual Christmas sit-out for charity which made the biggest impression. The image of the balaclava-clad Black Santa in Donegall Street has been indelibly printed on the minds of thousands of people."

The dean undertook a charity sit-out on the cathedral steps in the week before Christmas, for the past 14 years.

Over that period of time, he raised more than �2m for a host of charities, including the new children's hospice appeal in Northern Ireland.