Benedict Fitzgerald, best known for co-writing Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, died on Wednesday, January 17, at the age of 74.

According to the writer’s cousin, Nancy Morgan Ritter, Fitzgerald died at his villa in Marsala, Sicily, following a long illness.

Fitzgerald won his first award for a screenplay adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel, Wise Blood, which he co-wrote with his brother, Michael. Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ned Beatty appeared in the 1979 film, which was directed by John Huston and produced by Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald.

The son of renowned poet Robert Fitzgerald was particularly interested in literary adaptations. His second screenplay was for a 1993 television film adaption of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, starring Tim Roth as Marlow and John Malkovich as Kurtz.

He wrote Zelda, a television film starring Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton that depicted author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s relationship with his wife Zelda.

Fitzgerald’s most famous work came in 1999, when Mel Gibon approached him to create the screenplay for The Passion of the Christ.

The Passion of the Christ, released independently by Icon in February 2004, became a global box office blockbuster, generating more than $600 million on a $30 million budget.

He is survived by his wife Karen, daughters Eugenie, Helena, and Olimpia, three grandkids, and siblings Ughetta, Maria, Michael, Barnaby, and Caterina.