Cardinal Jozef Glemp, who headed the Polish Catholic Church during the Solidarity movement and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 83.
Jozef Kloch, a church spokesman, said in a statement that Glemp died on January 23 in Warsaw.
Glemp had been ill for many years. The Polish news agency PAP said he had lung cancer.
Earlier in the day, Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz had asked the faithful to pray for Glemp, noting that his condition was deteriorating.
Glemp headed the church from 1981 to 2004.
He was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II.
The church was a leading opponent of communism, which collapsed in Poland in 1989.
Jozef Kloch, a church spokesman, said in a statement that Glemp died on January 23 in Warsaw.
Glemp had been ill for many years. The Polish news agency PAP said he had lung cancer.
Earlier in the day, Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz had asked the faithful to pray for Glemp, noting that his condition was deteriorating.
Glemp headed the church from 1981 to 2004.
He was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II.
The church was a leading opponent of communism, which collapsed in Poland in 1989.