Cardinal, former vicar of the Diocese of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Camillo Ruini died on Tuesday at the age of 95, the portal reported. A native of Sassuolo, Italy, he served as president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference from 1991 to 2007, as well as as vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome and as archpriest of the Basilica of St. John in Lateran between 1991 and 2008.
The announcement was made by Cardinal Vicar Baldassare Reina and the Bishops’ Council of the Diocese of Rome, who expressed gratitude to Ruini for his long Christian life and his service to the Church. His pastoral leadership from 1991 to 2008, as stated in the statement, “left a deep mark in his intelligence in the interpretation of the presence of Christians in the city, which he associated with the responsibility of President of the Episcopal Conference of the Italian Church. Thanks to his keen discernment of the political and social changes in the country, he considered it necessary to lead the cultural transitions with the Catholic pride of being the guardian of the heritage of values that must not be hidden, but rather preserve and defend, thus fulfilling his episcopal motto Veritas liberabit nos.”
In recent months, Cardinal’s health has deteriorated, forcing him to receive day care at home. He previously faced multiple health problems, including a heart attack in July 2024 and kidney failure in 2025, which required hospitalization at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome.
