- Title: Ex-papal spokesman and Catholic luminary Navarro-Valls dies, aged 80
- Date: 5th July 2017
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (FILE - APRIL 29, 1999) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) FORMER VATICAN SPOKESMAN JOAQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS ENTERING GEMELLI HOSPITAL NAVARRO-VALLS IN HOSPITAL ENTRANCE (ON LEFT) VATICAN CITY, VATICAN (FILE - APRIL 2, 2005) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) NAVARRO-VALLS ARRIVING AT BRIEFING (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) THEN-VATICAN SPOKESMAN JOAQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS SAYING: "The general cardio-respiratory and metabolic conditions of the Holy Father are substantially unchanged and therefore are very serious." NUN LISTENING HAVANA, CUBA (FILE - JANUARY 22, 1998) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) POPE JOHN PAUL WITH CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO POPE AND CASTRO, WITH NAVARRO-VALLS WALKING BEHIND ROME, ITALY (FILE) (REUTERS) FORMER VATICAN SPOKESMAN JOAQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER VATICAN SPOKESMAN JOAQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS SAYING: "You know, the thing I most remember about him was his nice, stupendous sense of humour. For him, now, would be also his very sense of humour, saying, 'what about all this? The important thing is to love our God.' That was the essence of his message during all his life." ROME, ITALY (FILE - APRIL 1, 2005) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NAVARRO-VALLS WALKING OUT OF VATICAN PRESS OFFICE / GETTING INTO CAR/ CAR DRIVES OFF
- 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: LVA0016OG08QV
- 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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