The former Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, has died in Rome aged eighty-three.

As Secretary of State from 1979 to 1990, Cardinal Casaroli occupied the second most senior position in the Vatican hierarchy after the Pope.

A tailor's son from northern Italy, he served as a diplomat under five Popes and from 1961 fashioned a new Vatican foreign policy towards Eastern European states.

The BBC Vatican Correspondent says that, by signing agreements with Communist governments, he provided support for Roman Catholics who'd been suffering persecution.

On his retirement in 1989, Cardinal Casaroli was thanked by Pope John Paul for his work during what the Pope called "such historic times".