Cardinal Camillo Ruini, key figure in Italian Church and close to John Paul II, dies at 95; Pope Leo XIV to preside over funeral
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former president of the Italian bishops and vicar of Rome under John Paul II, has died at his home at the age of 95. Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his funeral at St. Peter’s on Thursday, with a second service in his native Reggio Emilia on Friday.
Death and final days
Camillo Ruini, the former president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) and Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, died on Tuesday evening at his home in Rome. He was 95. In his final weeks, aware that his condition was critical and requiring constant oxygen, he chose to remain at home rather than be hospitalised, cared for by his long-time assistant Pierina and a medical team. Those who saw him in his last days found his mind still sharp, but physical decline signaled the end.
expert and wise brother, supported by deep faith, sharp intelligence and farsighted vision, who served the Gospel and the Church with discretion and self-denial
Funeral arrangements
The Pope will preside over the funeral on Thursday 18 June at 4:30 pm at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. The wake opened on Wednesday at noon in the Chapel of the Madonna della Perseveranza at the Pontifical Minor Roman Seminary. After the Vatican service, the coffin will travel to the cardinal’s home diocese, where Archbishop Giacomo Morandi will lead a second celebration at Reggio Emilia Cathedral on Friday 19 June. The burial will then take place in the family tomb in Dinazzano cemetery.
- Wake opens at Chapel of Madonna della Perseveranza, Pontifical Minor Roman Seminary
- Funeral Mass presided by Pope Leo XIV at Altar of the Chair, St. Peter's Basilica
- Second celebration presided by Archbishop Giacomo Morandi at Reggio Emilia Cathedral
- Burial in family tomb, Dinazzano cemetery
Church and political reactions
Pope Leo XIV expressed gratitude for the life of "this esteemed man of the Church" in a telegram to the diocese of Rome. The presidency of the Italian bishops’ conference, led by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, visited the wake and praised Ruini’s "lively intelligence, pastoral vigour and profound dedication".
One of the most lucid minds in Italian society. I am honoured to have known him and to have enjoyed an affectionate bond of friendship.
Former prime minister Romano Prodi, who knew Ruini from his youth in Reggio Emilia, recalled that the future cardinal officiated at his wedding and spoke of a friendship that he never felt had broken. Foreign minister Antonio Tajani called Ruini a "precious interlocutor of politics" and a "great Italian".
A life at the centre of Italian Catholicism
Born in Sassuolo on 19 February 1931, Ruini was ordained a priest in 1954 and earned degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He became a bishop in 1983, was named secretary general of the CEI in 1986 and its president in 1991, a role he held until 2007 while also serving as Vicar General for the pope in Rome until 2008. Created a cardinal by John Paul II, he was a leading conservative voice, known for battles over bioethics and for the term "ruinismo" that entered the Treccani encyclopaedia. He remained a reference point for the Italian church and was remembered by personal chef Renato Dussin as a man of simple tastes who turned every meal into a chance for dialogue.
