Baldassare Reina

Baldassare Reina (born 26 November 1970) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as vicar general of the Diocese of Rome since 2024. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop there from 2022 to 2024. He also served in his native Archdiocese of Agrigento for nine years as rector of the major seminary. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2024. He was made grand chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences by Pope Leo XIV in 2025.

Biography Baldassare Reina was born on 26 November 1970 in San Giovanni Gemini, in the province of Agrigento. He entered the minor seminary of Agrigento in 1981 and studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a bachelor's degree in sacred theology in 1995. On 8 September 1995 he was ordained a priest for the diocese of Agrigento by Bishop Carmelo Ferraro. He obtained a licentiate in biblical theology at the Gregorian in 1998.

On 27 May 2022, Pope Francis appointed him titular bishop of Acquae in Mauretania and auxiliary bishop of Rome. He received his episcopal consecration alongside two other new auxiliaries of Rome on 29 June in the Basilica of St. John Lateran from Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar of the Diocese of Rome. He was given responsibility for the pastoral care of the western sector of the Diocese.

On 6 January 2023, Pope Francis named him vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome and raised him to the rank of archbishop. At the Vicariate of Rome he was responsible for the administration of assets, legal affairs, the general secretariat, and the protection of minors and vulnerable persons. When the office of the vicar general for the Diocese of Rome became vacant on 6 April 2024, Reina as vicegerent assumed the responsibilities of that office on a provisional basis. On the same day he was named apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Ostia. His appointments for the Diocese of Rome occurred as Pope Francis undertook a reorganization of its organization and management, with Reina selected to put Francis' new program into effect.

On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make Reina a cardinal on 8 December, a date that was later changed to 7 December, and that Reina was now the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome. On 25 October Pope Francis added the role of Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran to his responsibilities and raised him to the rank of archbishop.

On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Assunta e San Giuseppe a Primavalle.

He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. Pope Leo XIV appointed him grand chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences on 19 May 2025.