- Title: Ex-papal spokesman and Catholic luminary Navarro-Valls dies, aged 80
- Date: 5th July 2017
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POSTCARDS WITH PICTURES OF POPE JOHN PAUL II OUTSIDE SOUVENIR SHOP VARIOUS PICTURES OF POPE JOHN PAUL II ON DISPLAY IN ROME
- Embargoed: 19th July 2017 23:12
- Keywords: Pope John Paul Joaquin Navarro-Valls Catholic Vatican
- Location: ROME, ITALY / HAVANA, CUBA / VATICAN CITY, VATICAN /
- City: ROME, ITALY / HAVANA, CUBA / VATICAN CITY, VATICAN /
- Country: Vatican City
- Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0036OG08QV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT IS PART MUTE
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who as spokesman for two popes was the world's second-most visible Catholic luminary for nearly a quarter of a century, died on Wednesday (July 5) at the age of 80, friends said.
Navarro-Valls, a Spaniard who had degrees in medicine and psychiatry before becoming a journalist, had been suffering from cancer. He died in Rome.
In 1984 Pope John Paul named Navarro-Valls, a layman, to be Vatican spokesman and gave him direct access to his inner circle to a degree that no papal spokesman had before or has had since.
The photogenic Navarro-Valls became a celebrity in his own right, a global media personality often appearing on television to explain Catholic teachings in simple language.
Pope John Paul also occasionally used Navarro for sensitive missions, bypassing the Vatican's own diplomats.
In 1998 he went to Cuba to negotiate directly with Fidel Castro to iron out last-minute snags over Pope John Paul's historic visit.
After John Paul's death in 2005, Navarro-Valls stayed on as spokesman for Pope Benedict for more than a year to help his transition and then left Vatican service.
Until his health began failing he was a director of a Rome hospital and medical school run by the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, of which he was a member. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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