French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, a leader in Catholic-Muslim dialogue and the man who announced Pope Francis' election to the world, has died aged 75, the Vatican announced Friday.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told AFP that Tauran, from Bordeaux in southwest France, had suffered from Parkinson's disease and had recently been hospitalised in the United States.

"(Tauran) profoundly marked the life of the universal church," Pope Francis said in a telegram to Genevieve Dubert, the cardinal's sister.

He was a "counsellor who was listened to and appreciated," particularly in the Muslim world, the pontiff said.

As "protodeacon" of the College of Cardinals, Tauran emerged at St Peter's Basilica on a rainy March night in 2013 to announce Francis' election as pope.

Pope Francis later appointed him "camerlengo", a symbolically important role to ensure the transition between two popes.

"I have fond memories of this man of profound faith who courageously served the church of Christ to the end, despite the weight of disease," the Argentinian pontiff wrote.

Tauran, who spoke several languages, recently told AFP that he spent much of his time on the thorny issue of Catholic-Muslim relations.

He was an active participant in the preparations for Pope Francis' visit to Egypt last year.

On the subject of Islam, he said it was "already good that we speak", but admitted that his diplomacy often meant he dealt with leaders rather than ordinary believers.

Tauran spent most of his adult life at the Vatican after being ordained to the priesthood in Bordeaux in 1969.

An experienced diplomat, he headed up the Vatican's Secretariat of State in 1990, effectively acting as Pope John Paul II's foreign minister for 13 years.

He also served as Vatican ambassador, notably to Lebanon.