Tommaso Ruffo (1663-1753) was an Italian

archbishop of Ferrara The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio ( la, Archidioecesis Ferrariensis-Comaclensis) has existed since 1986, when the diocese of Comacchio was combined with the historical archdiocese of Ferrara. It is a suffragan of the archdioce ...

and

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Life

He was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, son of Carlo Ruffo, 3rd Duke of Bagnara. He was educated at La Sapienza University, becoming a doctor of canon and civil law. He was a papal diplomat, elected titular archbishop of Nicaea in 1698. On 13 Apr 1698, he was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

bishop by

Fabrizio Spada Fabrizio Spada (Rome, 17 March 1643 – Rome, 15 June 1717) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and served as Secretary of State under Pope Innocent XII. Life Born on March 17, 1643 in Rome, he was the son of Orazio Spada and ...

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

San Crisogono San Crisogono is a church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the martyr Saint Chrysogonus. It was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, and was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Sylvester I (314–335). ...

, with

Michelangelo dei Conti Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He ...

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Tarsus'', and

Francesco Acquaviva d'Aragona Francesco Acquaviva d'Aragona (14 October 1665 – 9 January 1725) was an Italian Cardinal, who served as ambassador of Spain to the Holy See. Life Francesco Acquaviva was born 14 October 1665 in Naples, the son of Giosia III Acquaviva d'Aragona, ...

of ''Larissa in Thessalia'', serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

. He was created cardinal-priest in 1706, despite having a cousin Giacomo Boncompagni in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

, with the title of S. Lorenzo in Panisperna. Having served as a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

, he became archbishop of Ferrara in 1717. He took part in the papal conclave, 1721 and the

papal conclave, 1724 The 1724 papal conclave was called upon the death of Pope Innocent XIII. It began on 20 March 1724 and ended on 28 May that year with the election of Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini, a Dominican friar, as Pope Benedict XIII. The conclave was made ...

. He became

bishop of Palestrina The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina ( la, Diocesis Praenestina) is a Roman Catholic suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Domenico Sigalini, who from 3 Novem ...

in 1726 and participated in the

papal conclave, 1730 The 1730 papal conclave elected Pope Clement XII as the successor to Pope Benedict XIII. Background Pope Benedict XIII died on February 21, 1730 at the age of eighty-one. The conclave which followed is considered to be the longest and most corrupt ...

. He was bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina 1738. and participated in the

papal conclave, 1740 The 1740 papal conclave (18 February – 17 August), convoked after the death of Pope Clement XII on 6 February 1740, was one of the longest conclaves since the 13th century. The initial favourite to succeed as pope, the elderly Pietro Ottobo ...

. He became

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establi ...

and bishop of Ostia e Velletri in 1740, and died in Rome in 1753. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living cardinal.

Episcopal succession

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffo, Tommaso 1663 births 1753 deaths 18th-century Italian cardinals Bishops of Ferrara Diplomats of the Holy See

Tommaso Tommaso is an Italian given name. It has also been used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A * Tommaso Acquaviva d'Aragona (1600–1672), Roman Catholic prelate * Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), Italian painter of ...

Inquisitors of Malta 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops