BERN, Switzerland — Pope John Paul II paid tribute to the late President Ronald Reagan, noting his important role in the fall of European communism. A papal spokesman said the pope was saddened to learn of Reagan's death June 5 and had prayed for the "eternal rest of his soul."

The pope was visiting Switzerland when Reagan, president in 1981-89, died at age 93. He suffered for more than a decade from Alzheimer's disease.

"The pope recalled the contributions of President Reagan to the historical events that changed the lives of millions of people, especially in Europe," Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman, told reporters.

The pope also noted Reagan's contributions to U.S. society, Navarro-Valls said. The spokesman said the Vatican would send a representative to Reagan's funeral, which was to take place June 11 in Washington.

The spokesman said that when President George W. Bush visited the Vatican June 4 the pope knew Reagan was very sick and sent a warm message to the late president's wife, Nancy.

Reagan met with the pope four times as president -- twice at the Vatican and twice in the United States. It was under Reagan that the United States finally established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1984.

The president and the pope, along with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, are considered by many to have been the main protagonists in the disbanding of the Soviet empire and the fall of communist governments throughout Eastern Europe.

In unpublicized visits and through diplomatic channels, Reagan administration officials provided information to the pope and his aides on events in Eastern Europe, particularly in the pope's native Poland.

While Reagan oversaw an arms buildup in the United States and Western Europe aimed at pressuring the Soviets, the pope pressed for respect for human rights throughout Soviet-bloc nations.

Despite their agreement on the bankruptcy of the Soviet system, the pope and Reagan sometimes disagreed over tactics. For example, the pope and other church leaders opposed U.S. economic sanctions imposed against Poland during the 1980s, on the grounds that it took a bigger toll on the country's people than its leaders.