FATHER Gerry Reynolds, whose efforts helped pave the way towards a peace settlement in the North of Ireland, died in the early hours of November 30.
Fr Reynolds, who was 82, died on Monday in the city's Royal Victoria Hospital after a short illness.
Originally from Limerick, the Redemptorist priest was based at Clonard Monastery in west Belfast for more than 30 years.
He was ordained in 1960, working in the Republic before moving to Belfast.
In an interview in 2009 with the Catholic magazine Reality, Fr Reynolds said that when he came to the city there was one challenge. "It was 'How do you stop the killing?'”
During his three decades in Belfast, he worked tirelessly alongside many other key players in both politics and in the religious communities to bring about peace and reconciliation
Clonard Monastery on the Falls Road was once described by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams as "the cradle of the peace process" and called Fr Reynolds "a champion of the peace process".
With his friend and fellow priest, Fr Alex Reid, Fr Reynolds helped broker talks that eventually led to a settlement in the North.
He was central to efforts to develop a peace process years before it eventually took root. I want to extend to his family, and to colleagues in the Redemptorist Order, and to his many friends my sincerest condolences."
SDLP MLA Alex Attwood said Fr Reynolds “was a holy man who touched the lives of countless numbers”.
He added: “He brought people together. Across our community, our churches and our conflict he worked quietly and relentlessly forging new relationships so that old differences could be resolved.
“He was devoted to the monastery, the people of Clonard and all of West Belfast. He brought Christian witness into private lives and public spaces.
Rector of Clonard Monastery, Fr Noel Kehoe, led the tributes from both sides of the religious divide: "Fr Gerry past away in the care of the Royal Victoria hospital at 6.50am this morning, 30th November 2015 after a short illness," he said.
"He will be greatly missed by his Redemptorist confreres and colleagues, his family, friends, and the many people whose lives he touched through his Ecumenical, Peace and Reconciliation Ministries."
See More: Death, Father Gerry Reynolds, Peacemaker, Redemptorist
