Police in the southern Philippines say a lone gunman shot an Italian Catholic priest to death outside his church Monday.

Authorities say Reverend Fausto Tentorio was going to his car in church compound in the remote town of Arakan on Mindanao island, when a helmeted man shot him three times and escaped on a motorcycle.

Police said the priest was taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead.

Various armed groups operate in the region, including outlaw gangs, Maoist rebels and Muslim separatists who have been waging an insurgency for decades.

The well-liked priest was known as a strong critic of mining interests in the region.