Cardinali Renato Corti, Bishop emeritus of Novara (Italy) was born in Galbiate in the province of Como and the diocese of Milan (Italy), on March 1st, 1936. After primary school he continued his formation in the seminaries of Milan.

He was ordained a priest on June 28th, 1959 by Msgr. Montini, the future Pope Paulus VI, and was parish co-operator in the oratory of Caronno Pertusella from 1959 to 1967.

He then served in the archbischop's College of Gorla as spiritual director. In 1969 he moved to Saronno with the same mandate, then served as rector for theological studies from 1977 to November 1980, when he was selected by Archbishop Martini as vicar general.

Elected to the titular see of Zallata and appointed auxiliary bishop of Milan on April 30th, 1981, he was ordained in the same year. Alongside his diocesan duties he served as president of the Commission for the clergy of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

He was appointed as bishop of Novara on December 19th 1990, taking up his post on March 3rd 1991. He was pastor of the diocese of Novara untill November 24th 2011, when Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation upon reaching the age limit.

For a decade until 2005 he served as vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

In February 2005 he preached the spiritual exercises to the Roman Curia, in the last of which Pope John Paul II participated.

In 2015 Pope Francis entrusted to him the task of writing the meditations for the traditional Way of the Cross on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome.

Created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of 19 November 2016, titular church of San Giovanni a Porta Latina.

Cardinale Renato Corti died on 12 May 2020.