Vatican City, Jul 9, 2017 / 09:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his 22 years as spokesman for St. John Paul II, Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls became somewhat of a legend in the Vatican – not only for his keen professional abilities and insight into the Pope’s mind, but also for his genuine kindness and deep spiritual life.
In a word, most who knew the late Spanish layman, who died earlier this week, have referred to him as a “gentleman” who was elegant, professional, kind and incredibly savvy.
Fr. John Wauck, a longtime friend of Navarro-Valls, described him as “an old-school gentleman and a consummate professional – capable, discreet, committed, loyal.”
Likewise, Greg Burke, current Director of the Holy See Press Office, said after announcing news of Navarro’s passing on Twitter that “Joaquin Navarro embodied what Ernest Hemingway defined as courage: grace under pressure.”
Burke said that he had met Navarro-Valls while working as a correspondent for Time Magazine the same year that the publication had named St. John Paul II “Man of the Year.”
In dealing with the Pope’s spokesman, Burke said “I expected to find a man of faith, but I found a man of faith who was also a first class professional” that was already well known and respected by his peers in the communications world.
“I didn’t always agree with Navarro, but he always behaved like a Christian gentlemen – and those can be hard to find these days,” Burke said.
Navarro-Valls was born in Cartagena, Spain in 1936. He studied medicine at the Universities in Granada and Barcelona, and worked as a professional psychiatrist and teaching medicine before obtaining degrees in journalism and communications.
He joined Opus Dei after meeting its founder St. Josemaria Escriva, continuing to collaborate with the founder in Rome, where he moved in 1970.
In Rome he was a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC and was twice elected president of the Rome-based Foreign Press Association in Italy.
He was the first lay journalist to hold the position of Director of the Vatican Press Office, which he was appointed to by Pope St. John Paul II in 1984. He served through the Pope’s death and two years into the pontificate of Benedict XVI before retiring in 2006.
After, he served as president of the advisory board of the Opus Dei-affiliated Campus Biomedical University in Rome until his death.
In his tenure at the Vatican Press Office spanning more than two decades, Navarro-Valls helped to modernize Vatican communications, especially as technology advanced. As Burke said, “he lived through the fax to the age of the internet.”
In 1992, he used $2 million to equip the press office with up-to-date technology and to modernize the facilities. He also streamlined the distribution of materials by making archives, documents and the Pope’s activities accessible online.
He died in Rome July 5 surrounded by fellow members of Opus Dei after battling terminal cancer. His funeral was held Thursday, July 6 at 11a.m. at the basilica of Sant’Eugenio, and was celebrated by the Vicar General of Opus Dei, Bishop Mariano Fazio.
Mario Biasetti, a journalist under the last five popes and a friend and colleague of Navarro-Valls, said he was a professional journalist, and it showed in everything he did.
Even when a colleague or a journalist would ask him a tough question, “it didn’t faze him,” Biasetti said. “He would tell you exactly what happened, but he would do it with a smile.”
“Joachin Navarro was a very well thought of man all-around. He had no difficulty to speak with anybody, whether officially or not officially.”
Biasetti traveled on many papal trips with John Paul II, and Navarro was always there and always by his side, he said. He was also always willing to pitch in and “always came through” for journalists with whatever they needed.
For Burke, one of the key things that stood out about Navarro-Valls is that he was someone who would work “shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of us,” who “knew the world” and was good with languages.
Burke noted that before coming to the Vatican, Navarro worked as a correspondent, “and his colleagues from around the globe clearly recognized his merits, electing him President of the Stampa Estera in Rome.”
“I remember watching Navarro closely during the U.N. Population Conference in Cairo – one of the best examples of what Pope Francis calls ideological colonization. It was fascinating to see someone who was defending the faith, but he wasn’t on the defensive. He was leading the fight.”
Asked about what, if any, advice he had given Burke on doing the job, the spokesman said the advice he got “was more personal than professional, such as ‘don’t neglect your interior life, and make sure you pray – you’ll need it in this job.’”
This attention to the spiritual life is something that was also obvious to others who worked with Navarro. In Biasetti’s words, the Spaniard “was a journalist, yes, but he was also a churchman.”
Fr. Wauck, a professor of the Institutional Church Communications faculty at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and a fellow member of Opus Dei, recalled that this spiritual dynamic was evident even in Navarro’s work.
The priest said that when he thinks of Navarro, the first thing that comes to mind is “the conversion of the Time magazine reporter Wilton Wynn,” a well-known old-time reporter in the Middle East and Rome during John Paul II’s pontificate.
“Naturally, it was the vibrant Christian example of the Pope that attracted Wilton to the faith, but his long friendship with Navarro-Valls played a key part as well,” Wauck said, adding that Navarro-Valls “maintained an affectionate concern for Wilton’s spiritual well-being for the rest of his life.”
Another memory the priest recalled is “a small act of kindness” that took place over the summer some 15 years ago.
Fr. Wauck said that he had mentioned, in passing, in front of Navarro, that he had broken his swimming goggles. “The next day, I found a new pair on my desk, and they were much better than the ones I’d broken.”
Fr. Federico Lombardi, Navarro-Valls’ immediate successor as Director of the Holy See Press Office, also reflected on his relationship with his late predecessor, calling to mind Navarro’s character and impact on Vatican communications.
Lombardi recalled meeting Navarro after coming to Rome in 1991 to take on the role as Director of Programming for Vatican Radio.
After meeting and working alongside the Spaniard, particularly when the Pope traveled abroad, it immediately became clear that he was “a stable and important component” of the papal entourage, “but also likeable, friendly and cordial,” Lombardi said.
“Naturally I already knew him for his fame as a brilliant and competent ‘spokesman’ for the Pope,” he said, noting that the official title for someone in Navarro’s position is “Director of the Holy See Press Office.”
However, in the case of Navarro-Valls, spokesman “was an entirely appropriate name.”
Even if this wasn’t the official description of his duty – which was rather “Director of the Press Office” – it must be said that in his case it was an entirely appropriate name given the close relationship he had with John Paul II.
According to Lombardi, it was Navarro himself who often stressed that it was “absolutely necessary to have – and to indeed have – a direct relationship with the Pope, in order to know his thinking and line of thought with surety and clarity, and to be able to present himself to the world, to the Press Office and to public opinion as an authoritative interpreter of that thought, and not just hearsay.”
Throughout Navarro’s lengthy tenure working in the Vatican, there was absolutely “no doubt” that “he was very close to the Pope, so close that he must be considered one of the most important figures of that extraordinary pontificate.”
This, Lombardi said, is “not only because of his evident public visibility, but also for his role as intervention and advice. Certainly John Paul II had great confidence in him and held his service in high esteem.”
Burke, who is Lombardi’s successor as Director of the Holy See Press Office, referred to this relationship when he announced Navarro’s passing, posting a photo of him standing next to John Paul II with a big smile.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”tl” dir=”ltr”>Joaquin Navarro, 1936-2017.<br>Keep Smiling. <a href=”https://t.co/VCqL4GH5sS”>pic.twitter.com/VCqL4GH5sS</a></p>— Greg Burke (@GregBurkeRome) <a href=”https://twitter.com/GregBurkeRome/status/882672100091322370″>July 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
“I tweeted out a photo of Navarro-Valls and John Paul II smiling together, saying ‘Navarro, keep smiling.’ But I actually took that quote from John Paul II,” he said.
It was after a meeting between the Pope and the editors of Time Magazine, Burke explained. Navarro was standing off to the side a little, but smiling, happy with how things had gone and Pope St. John Paul II, noticing, said to him in English: “keep smiling.”
“You could tell that they had a very, very good relationship,” he said.
When it came to Navarro’s professional abilities, Lombardi said that at U.N. conferences the Spaniard would end up playing a primary and even diplomatic role, thanks to his “experience and communicative ability.”
“His intelligence, elegance and relational abilities were prominent. To that is added a great knowledge of languages and a true genius in presenting news and information content in a brilliant, attractive and concise way,” Lombardi said.
These are all gifts that made Navarro “an ideal person as a point of reference in the Vatican for the international information providers, but also for relations” with people in the public, communications and political spheres.
As both a layman and a consecrated member of Opus Dei, Navarro could be counted on as a competent and respected professional, but also as someone “whose dedication and faithful love of the Church could really be counted on, for the effective availability of both time and heart.”
For Lombardi, the lengthy duration of Navarro’s service as Director of the Press Office, his authoritativeness, efficiency and the quality of his work make his tenure “an age that will likely remain unique in the history of the Press Office and of Vatican communications.”
“Certainly, the dimension of communications and public relations in the immense pontificate of John Paul II cannot in any way be independent of Dr. Navarro’s work and personality,” he said. “It was an invaluable service to the Church.”
Lombardi voiced his gratitude to Navarro, specifically for the “courtesy and attention” he showed during the time they worked together.
“I always considered him a teacher in the way of carrying out his service and I never would have imagined to be called to succeed him,” Lombardi said, adding that his predecessor was “totally inimitable.”
“In the context of a different pontificate I tried to interpret and carry out the task assigned to me as best as I knew how, but preserving, for what was possible, his precious legacy,” he said.
Lombardi and Navarro remained friends even after the latter stepped down. For Lombardi, his predecessor was always “an example of a discreet, true and deep spiritual life, fully integrated with his work, a model of dedication to the service of the Pope and the Church, a teacher in communications.”
“Even for me – as I already said, but I willingly repeat – he was inimitable.”
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“Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship.”
I am not sure that this statement accurately reflects the situation, but for the sake of argument let us accept it for now.
Will there be a similar statement regarding the Muslim murders of thousands of Catholics and other christians in Nigeria? And stating that these are Muslim murders?
Any forthcoming Vatican statements on the Chinese attacks on Catholics, clergy and churches in China?
Macht geht vor Recht. The Palestinians “have no cards”. The Christian West is Christian no longer. Its holy places, and the Christians of the Holy Land, have no defenders. Thank you Pope Leo for reminding everyone that there is a greater power, that will eventually triumph, even over those who have their pathetic, cruel cards today.
It would be true if the Pope directed those comments at Hamas and Islamic terrorists worldwide. His focus on Israel to the exclusion of Islamic terrorism is inexplicable in Islam’s cultural war against all infidels.
CFCz: Separate issues, different approaches. Give the man a break!
Separate issues??? Seriously??? How many rockets, cowardly hidden behind women and children, or within hospitals themselves, by cowardly terrorists, must be tolerated by the civilian population of Israel?
Painting a picture that accommodates Islamic terrorism, which began the war, is an act of gross moral cowardice by Leo. I expect we’ll have more episodes of his imitating Francis. After all, Francis downplayed the evil of slicing off the heads of children.
Given that Palestinian rockets have killed at most a few dozen outside its territory over the last few decades, killing 30,000 civilians and trying to ethnically cleanse the rest in order that it “never” happen again is deranged, cuel and immoral. In the real world, countries can suffer aggression, go to war and defeat aggressors, but rarely do they expect civilised onlookers to applaud them while they make the offending nation disappear so it never happens again. Never is a very big word in the real world. Life will always be dangerous. We are entitled to protect ourselves from stones being thrown at us, and fight back. But we can’t dream of living in a world where “never” will anyone exist who can throw a stone at us. That’s insanity.
Edward: Proportionality in the use of force in going to war (ccc2312) read the catechism. A great wrong was done to Israel, but that does not justify their disproportionate response and their annihilation of many innocent people. The blocking of aide-food and medical supplies-is immoral and must be condemned. The Pope as a spiritual leader has both the right and obligation to speak out and stand up for All those oppressed including the Palestinians. Doing so does not imply that he approves or supports Islamic terrorists in any way.
No reply buttons were allowed for the two comments of disinformation. “Ethnic cleansing?” An Orwellian reversal of history in the Middle East, where tens of thousands, without hyperbole, of terrorist attacks have been directed towards Israel with Palestinian leaders calling for the complete annihilation of every Jew in Israel and throughout the world. This is real genocidal evilness.
And Israel did not deny food and medicine to wounded civilians. They properly sought a process of screening, knowing of the historical moral bankruptcy of “impartial international groups” funneling additional weaponry under such a pretext.
Every sane person knows that if all Palestinians and neighboring Arabs made an honest authentic pledge to lay down all their weapons and abandon the commitment to anti-Jewish genocide tomorrow, there would be permanent peace in the Mideast.
If Israel made a unilateral decision to lay down its arms tomorrow, it would begin the complete annihilation of Israel from the face of the earth.
“‘We will have peace,’ said Theoden at last thickly and with an effort. Several of the Riders cried out gladly. Theoden held up his hand. ‘Yes, we will have peace,’ he said, now in a clear voice, ‘we will have peace, when you and all your works have perished – and the works of your dark master to whom you would deliver us. You are a liar. Saruman, and a corrupter of men’s hearts. You hold out your hand to me, and I perceive only a finger of the claw of Mordor. Cruel and cold! Even if your war on me was just as it was not, for were you ten times as wise you would have no right to rule me and mine for your own profit as you desired – even so, what will you say of your torches in Westfold and the children that lie dead there? And they hewed Hama’s body before the gates of the Hornburg, after he was dead. When you hang from a gibbet at your window for the sport of your own crows, I will have peace with you and Orthanc.“
Anything less than the Holy Father’s full recognition of the justice of the Israeli position is a disgrace.
Crusader;
Good points.
“The IDF ACKNOWLEDGED RESPONSIBILITY (EM) stating that ‘fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the Church mistakenly.”
Can anyone out there imagine such a statement and apology from ANY muslim ‘clerics’ or leaders?
No sane person could.
Nobody cares. Justice isn’t ascertained by which side seems to have scored a point, when both sides here are as bad as each other. What the Christian West needs to be in tears of anger about is what happens to its holy places and the Christians in our Holy Land.
That’s a grotesquely shallow, false, and insulting to Our Lord understanding of what it means to be “The Christian West.”
All people matter, and every moment of human moral interaction matters to Christians.
Perhaps I’m misunderstanding your statement, and if so, I apologize. But “both sides” are not “as bad as each other.” The truth of the matter was expressed very well in a comment above: if Hamas laid down their weapons there would be peace; if the Israelis laid down their weapons they would be annihilated.
“Every sane person knows that if all Palestinians and neighboring Arabs made an honest authentic pledge to lay down all their weapons and abandon the commitment to anti-Jewish genocide tomorrow, there would be permanent peace in the Mideast.
If Israel made a unilateral decision to lay down its arms tomorrow, it would begin the complete annihilation of Israel from the face of the earth.”
********
Exactly. Thank you Mr. Baker
Maybe the Gazans will beat their oppressors to death with empty baby bottles.
E Baker, as I wrote before, it’s insanity to demand to live in a world where nobody exists who can throw stones at you. Ethnically cleansing the Palestinians (which has happened and continues) is not merely a slogan. You ought to address that because it’s the cause for the popularity of most of the rhetoric coming from the other side. After all, the Palestinians were there first. While under Turkish and British control something was created in their midst which left them without any “cards”, and they’ve been fighting for their freedom as best they can ever since. Just like the Irish, they didn’t have a state, but it didn’t stop them from fighting. However, the main issue for the Christian West is its sacred sites, its Holy Land, and the Christians who live there. The Pope is articulating very well the Western policy of all time in the region.
I agree with one point. Hammas should stop ethnic cleansing and mass murdering their own people, including their ongoing slaughter of those Palestinians pursuing refuge in Israeli aid camps.
“They were there first”
Please learn some history. Many of the Muslims who displaced Jews from their ancient homeland, following a bloody conquest, while calling themselves Palestinian, began a centuries long process of seeking ways of exterminating the Jewish “infidels.”
“While under Turkish and British control something was created in their midst which left them without any “cards”
Don’t know what a card game has to do with anything, but the Muslim population was never forced to leave when the (something) State of Israel was endorsed and recognized by global consensus at the United Nations, a Jewish homeland necessitated by European “Christians” seeking their extermination as well. Events that forced their emigration to the stateless geographical land of Palestine. For the sake of real Christians, who know humanity also includes non-Christians, the formation of Israel helped preserve Christian holy sites within their land, as they’ve been undergoing systematic destruction in much of the Muslim world.
Imagine what Christian holy places in Israel might look like today minus the protection of the Israeli government?
E Michael Jones reminds us that in 2002, when the IDF occupied Ramallah in the West Bank, the Israelis took over the television stations and immediately began broadcasting pornography. We should be grateful the Holy Land is under the control of Israel.
E Michael Jones as a source of truthful information is not much different than consulting the archives of the Nazi Party for an accurate history of Judaism.
Jones has even faulted whatever whent wrong at VII as a Jewish conspiracy.
Tel Aviv’s protection has seen the majority of the Christians of the Holy Land depart since 1947. Many churches have been destroyed. In comparison, the Ottomans looked good
Many Christians left the Holy Land because of a 78 year continuous war.
Destruction of Churches were largely due to Islamic terrorism. And the Ottoman Empire doesn’t exist anymore, but in its former territories Christians and Jews remain subjects of hate with a desire for the destruction of all their culture and faith.
Like the Irish, the Palestinians weren’t asked about being displaced by people from Europe.The Palestinians have just as much, if not more DNA from the ancient population of Palestine as the immigrants who set up the new state in the 1940s.
The Palestinians were never “displaced.” Most left because they were assured from their own leaders that they could return once the Jewish “infidels” were eliminated.
And bringing DNA into the subject is off the wall preposterous.
They terrorised into leaving, in the 1940swere and onwards. DNA is always helpful in establishing who has lu ks with the pipe population in OT times.
No reply button to your last comment, but your first point of Palestinians having been terrorized is a blatant falsehood, and the notion of discerning ancient history from DNA, which has no such identifiable connection, is not supported by long established historical accounts. Judea was a Jewish civilization, and a civilization stemming from Muslim culture is still a premature proposition.
If even Zio-Evangelicals like Mike Huckabee are speaking out against Israel’s actions, you know that we are reaching a turning point.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mike-huckabee-rebukes-attackers-of-christian-church-village-crime-against-humanity-and-god/ar-AA1IWzVB?ocid=BingNewsVerp
https://www.theweek.in/news/middle-east/2025/07/21/us-ambassador-mike-huckabee-warns-israel-of-reprisals-over-new-visa-restrictions-rising-hostility-toward-christian-institutions.html