Ballarat-born Pell was in the spotlight for much of his 81 years, from humble beginnings in regional Victoria to becoming one of the most powerful men in the Vatican.

Pell died following complications from hip replacement surgery on Tuesday evening, and it led to an outpouring of attacks from many people, while former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called for the cardinal's sainthood.

"He came to embody the institutional failures of the Catholic Church. He didn't act when he knew children were being sexually abused. I believe those who accused Pell of sexually abusing them. He destroyed lives. This will be his legacy," @Aaronsmith333 posted on Twitter.

@PeterWMurphy1 posted: "Pell opposed women's rights, saying abortion was 'a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people'. He also vilified the LGBT community and protected paedophiles in the #CatholicChurch. Pell was a vicious evil man".

@nordacious wrote: "I distinctly remember as a scared, closeted teenager listening to George Pell on talk-back radio, harshly condemning homosexuality. Ascending to become the third most senior Catholic in the world, he was seen by so many as the bastion of virtue".

@ncarusowishart posted "it is my sincere wish that his final days and final moments were spent sleepless and anxious about the eternity he believes he'll spend there for his evils".

Along with the anger came support for the work Pell did in the church, including from Sydney Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher.

"This news comes as a great shock to all of us. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Pell, for comfort and consolation for his family and for all of those who loved him and are grieving him at this time," he posted on his official Facebook page.

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Former Australian treasurer, Joe Hockey, posted on Twitter that he is "immensely saddened" at Pell's unexpected death.

"He was a man of deep faith and great integrity. He was blessed with fortitude, courage, determination and intellect. He was proudly Australian," he wrote.

Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli also posted following Pell's death.

"With great sadness, the news is out that Cardinal George Pell died a few hours ago, from heart complications following hip surgery. May eternal light now be his, who so steadfastly believed in the God of Jesus Christ," he wrote.

Author of The Benedict Option and Live Not By Lies and self-confessed conservative and Orthodox Christian, Rod Dreher, met with Pell a few weeks ago.

"Three weeks ago, this great man of the Catholic Church, who bore slander and persecution w/courage and grace, welcomed me to his table in Rome. Now he is gone. He blessed me as I left, right after this photo. Thank you, Lord, for this meeting. Servant of God George Pell, pray for us," he posted on Twitter.