Camillo Ruini

Camillo Ruini (; 19 February 1931 – 16 June 2026) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was made a cardinal in 1991. He served as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference from 1991 to 2007 and as Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome from 1991 to 2008.

Ruini was very active as a spokesperson for the church and was one of the church officials who most often appeared on Italian television, newspapers, and magazines.

Biography Ruini was born in Sassuolo, Emilia Romagna, on 19 February 1931. After studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he obtained licentiate degrees in philosophy and in sacred theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on 8 December 1954 by Archbishop Luigi Traglia. He was consecrated a bishop by Bishop Gilberto Baroni on 29 June. As vice president of the Preparatory Committee, he contributed to the realization of the Ecclesial Convention of Loreto (1985), which has become a reference point in the dialogue between the church and Italian society following their difficult relationship of the 1960s and 1970s. He was made Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura on 28 June 1991 and named Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome and archpriest of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano on 1 July 1991. He was also grand chancellor of the Lateran University which promotes pilgrimages to Rome. He remained in this role until 2 May 1996. Ruini was also a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, and the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Affairs of the Holy See. Ruini was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

On 17 March 2010, the Vatican formed a commission to look into the phenomenon of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, where six young people have said they have had visions of the Virgin Mary since the early 1980s. Ruini was its president. In January 2014, the commission submitted its findings to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Politics Ruini was seen as a social and political conservative, close to the positions of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He was very active in the mass media and was the strongest voice of the church against the spring 2005 referendum for the liberalization of Italy's legal restrictions on artificial insemination. He commented on the issue of the 1999 French Pacte civil de solidarité for unmarried couples of the same or opposite sex. In 2007, a bill was proposed in the Italian Senate for a law on civil unions. The bishops' conference opposed this proposal.

Retirement and death On 7 March 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco to succeed Ruini as President of the Italian Episcopal Conference. His resignation from his other positions was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on 27 June 2008, including the position of Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, in which he was replaced by Cardinal Agostino Vallini. As of 21 June 2013, Ruini was serving as the president of the Scientific Committee of the Ratzinger Foundation.

Ruini was hospitalised for more than a week in July 2024. He had a pacemaker implanted to address a cardiac ischemia. In May 2026, Ruini was reported to be "in critical condition", receiving care and supplemental oxygen at his home.

Ruini died in Rome on 16 June 2026, at the age of 95. His funeral Mass was celebrated at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica on 18 June 2026. The Mass was presided over by Pope Leo XIV. A second funeral service was held on 19 June 2026 in Reggio Emilia, where he was buried.