This afternoon, at 16.30, at the Altar of the Cathedra of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the funeral service was held for His Eminence Cardinal Camillo Ruini, of the Title of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura, Vicar General emeritus of His Holiness for the diocese of Rome and Archpriest emeritus of the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
The funeral liturgy was celebrated by the Holy Father Leo XIV, together with the cardinals, archbishops and bishops.
We publish below the homily which the Pope delivered during the celebration:
Homily of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are celebrating this Eucharist entrusting our brother Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a wise and caring shepherd of Christ’s flock, to the Lord’s mercy.
For many years he served the Church, carrying out with the same dedication both the humblest tasks and those carrying the greatest responsibility which the Lord chose to entrust to him, as a priest, Bishop and Cardinal: in teaching, in study and theological reflection, in pastoral care, in youth ministry, in cultural affairs, in the care of the laity and vocations, and in the exercise of authority.
A great deal is owed to him by the Church in Italy, which he served for some seventeen years as President of the Episcopal Conference; the Diocese of Rome is equally indebted to him, where for the same length of time he carried out his ministry as Vicar of the Holy Father. He was able to guide the People of God and his brother bishops at important and delicate moments, facing numerous challenges with enthusiasm, discernment and courage.
We owe to him insights and initiatives that have left a profound mark on the journey of both the ecclesial and civil communities. We think of the “Cultural Project”; of the commitment he poured into promoting the Catholic world’s contribution across the most diverse spheres of Italian religious, civil and political life; of the great work of the Diocesan Synod and its implementation here in Rome; and of his active and engaging presence at various levels of the Church’s life, as well as in the secular world and society.
As we remember him and entrust him to the embrace of the heavenly Father, let us be enlightened by the Word of God that we have heard, and also by some of the thoughts he himself left in writing.
In the First Reading, the stirring words of the Apostle Paul resounded: “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38–39). This is the truth that also inspired Cardinal Ruini in his ministry. God’s love is faithful; nothing can God’s love is faithful; nothing can defeat it or separate us from it, for it is His gift, it comes from Him, and it is poured out upon us beyond all our merit and weakness. Our dear brother guided the faithful and the communities entrusted to him through many trials and tribulations during his long service, and it is precisely in the Lord’s invincible love and in our response of faith to this gift that we must seek the source of the strength with which he faced them.
In his Spiritual Testament, speaking of the many people towards whom he felt gratitude for the good they had bestowed upon him, Cardinal Camillo wrote: “From them I have received no less than what I have sought to give”. I believe these are words that can help us too to fulfil our responsibilities and carry out our various ministries with the same humility and the same trust in God.
Moreover, he himself bore witness that one of the resources that accompanied him the most throughout his long life, ever since his childhood, was prayer: simple, heartfelt, fresh in his earliest years, and then maturing over time, right up to the period of frailty and illness.
Another passage from Scripture that the Liturgy has offered us, and which can help us to live this moment of grace fruitfully, are the words of Jesus that we heard in the Gospel: “Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am” (Jn 17:24). These words encapsulate the plan, direction and ultimate purpose of a life spent for the good of one’s brothers and sisters and lived in the constant pursuit of God’s plans for one’s own salvation and theirs. Cardinal Ruini wrote on this subject: I hope, Lord, that I have acted not out of personal interest but for the objectives entrusted to me and which I wholeheartedly shared” (Spiritual Testament). It is good to recall, at this moment, the reality that deeply animated his heart as a Shepherd, beyond and above every other concern. As we accompany him with prayer and the offering of the Eucharist, let us make his desire our own: to reach the place where the Lord awaits us and wants us to be, in eternal joy, and to journey towards that goal, each of us with the desire to share in it together with others, united in Him and amongst ourselves, for ever.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini had the grace to know personally and to work with some of the great saints of recent times, such as Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II. In particular, regarding his relationship with Pope Wojtyła, with whom he collaborated for so many years, he wrote: “In John Paul II I experienced your presence, Lord; I was able to witness first-hand the unity in prayer, the inseparability of prayer, life and apostolate, the courage of faith that guides history, and the capacity to love and forgive” (ibid.).
I believe that the Cardinal was able to draw much from the great Pontiff’s example of unity of life, for we can also recognize in him many of the traits with which he describes the saintly Pope; and I think that this harmony of sentiments can also inspire us on our journey.
As the motto for his episcopate, our brother had chosen a phrase inspired by the Gospel of Saint John: Veritas liberabit nos, “The truth will set us free” (cf. Jn 8:32). These words sum up the profound understanding of the person and of freedom that Christ has revealed to us and which the Church teaches: we are made for truth and for goodness, and it is only in this that we find unity, peace and true fulfilment, both in this earthly life and for eternity. They clearly remind us of a message that is particularly significant for our times, in which we can be disoriented by relativist tendencies and by wholly fluid visions of reality and of the human person. Looking at Cardinal Ruini’s life, at how he lived and how he left this world, we can see a sign of the strength and stability with which a person grows and matures when they find in the Truth that comes from God the centre and fulcrum of their existence.
To conclude, I would like to express my gratitude to the people who, as already mentioned, accompanied, assisted and supported the Cardinal in his work, throughout his pastoral service and especially during his later years and in his infirmity. In particular, I would like to thank those who remained close to him until the very end with devoted care. May the Lord reward them all, grant comfort to his relatives and loved ones, and bestow upon him the reward of His peace that has no end.
