Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern said Thursday that his daughter Molly McGovern died “unexpectedly in Italy while visiting a good friend and his family.” In a statement, the Worcester Democrat, his wife Lisa McGovern, and their son Patrick McGovern said that Molly had faced a rare cancer diagnosis.

Molly McGovern, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, died unexpectedly while on a trip in Italy, the Massachusetts congressman's office said Thursday. She was 23 years old. The high-ranking Democrat from Worcester said his daughter was battling a rare form of cancer and just finished a semester studying abroad in Australia.