David Willey, famed Vatican correspondent, dies at 93


David Willey, a BBC foreign correspondent who spent more than five decades covering the Vatican and key global conflicts, passed away on 12 July 2026, aged 93.


His career began with Reuters and included reporting from Algeria, East Africa, Vietnam, China and, most notably, Rome as the BBC's Vatican correspondent, where he chronicled the papacies of five popes.


Willey was honoured with an OBE for services to broadcast journalism and authored a seminal book on Pope Francis, "The Promise of Francis". He remained active into his nineties, reflecting on the changing Vatican post‑Francis.


Colleagues remembered him as an "incredible authority", with BBC correspondent Mark Lowen noting his kindness and mentorship when Lowen began reporting in Rome in 2019.



David Willey speaking to Pope John Paul II in 2002
David Willey with Pope John Paul II during a flight from Bulgaria to Rome, 2002.


He spent his final years in Italy, where he succumbed to heart failure. Willey's legacy endures in his insightful reporting and mentorship of future Vatican correspondents.