The death has taken place in Italy of the Irish Columban missionary, Father Niall O'Brien, the campaigning priest who came to the world's attention when he was imprisoned in the Philippines in the 1980s.
Father O'Brien (64) died in Pisa on Tuesday night following a fall from his wheelchair on Sunday. He had been receiving treatment for a chronic blood disorder in the medical faculty of the University of Pisa.
His brother Terence, a retired professor of economics from the University of Ulster, was in Pisa at the time of his death. Father O'Brien is also survived by his brother Fergus.
The news of his death will be received with great sadness in the Philippines, where Father O'Brien had worked for nearly 40 years, according to Father Colm McKeating, regional director of the Philippines region of the society of St Columban.
"He was a man of tremendous imagination who had a new approach to preaching the Gospel. He had a variety of skills and was also a man of integrity. We have lost a very talented man who had a very fruitful life and who has left quite a legacy," Father McKeating stated.
Father O'Brien had been undergoing treatment for his condition over the last four months in Italy, according to Father McKeating.
From Blackrock, Co Dublin, Father O'Brien joined the Columbans in 1957 and travelled to the Philippines in 1964 soon after ordination. There he worked for social justice for sugar workers. Along with two other priests and six lay workers, he made headlines when he was charged with the murder of the mayor of Kabankalan, Pablito Pablo Sola, in February 1983.
He and the other priest were placed under house arrest, but they chose to be held with the lay workers in prison. They were released in 1984 and charges were later dropped.
According to Father McKeating, Father O'Neill's pursuit of social justice for sugar workers made him a target of these false claims.
He returned to Ireland to a hero's welcome and wrote two books, The Seeds of Injustice, an account of his prison experience, and Revolution from the Heart, in which he presented his model of active non-violence.
He returned to the Philippines following the overthrow of Marcos. He came home three years ago to undergo treatment for his condition and returned to the Philippines to found a magazine for diocesan priests.