Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who spent 22 years as director of the Vatican press office, has died at the age of 80.
No details were available immediately, but his death was announced in a tweet by the current director of the Vatican press office, Greg Burke.
In a statement to Catholic News Service, Burke said he did not always agree with Navarro-Valls, but his predecessor "always behaved like a Christian gentleman -- and those can be hard to find these days."
"Joaquin Navarro embodied what Ernest Hemingway defined as courage: grace under pressure. I got to know Navarro when I was working for Time, and the magazine named John Paul II Man of the Year. I expected to find a man of faith, but I found a man of faith who was also a first-class professional."
