Ben Bolton, who covered the Second Vatican Council and two papacies for The Associated Press, has died at the age of 82.
Bolton's daughter, Catherine, says her father died Dec. 28 at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland
After arriving in Rome at the age of 29, Bolton soon found himself immersed in the transformative meetings that became known as Vatican II. The meetings took place over three years and helped modernize the Catholic Church.
Bolton covered the death of the man who presided over the start of those talks, Pope John XXIII, and the election of Pope Paul VI, who closed the sessions.
He returned to the U.S. after six years in Rome, remaining with the AP for a time, then working for a number of other news outlets.