The suspected killer of Roman Catholic bishop Luigi Padovese was captured, a Turkish official said on Thursday.

The suspect had been Padovese's driver for the last four-and-a-half years, the official, Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Padovese was stabbed in his summer mansion and died en route to a hospital in the town of Iskenderun of Hatay province in southern Turkey.

"According to preliminary reports, the murder did not have a political motive. It was revealed that the suspect had been receiving treatment for psychological disorders. A full investigation is under way," Lekesiz said.