Cardinal Józef Glemp, head of the Catholic Church in Poland between 1981-2009, died on Wednesday at the age of 83. He had suffered from lung cancer and died in hospital.

He was born in 1929 and became a priest in 1956. He headed the church through the 1980s, when martial law was declared in Poland and when later changes led to the collapse of communist rule. 

Cardinal Glemp retired in 2009, having reached the age of 80. He was still considered a leading figure in the church after retirement.