Alessandro Carmelo Ruffinoni is the retired bishop of Caxias do Sul and a

Scalabrinian The Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo (), commonly called the Scalabrinian Missionaries, is a Catholic religious institute of brothers and priests founded by Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza in Italy, ...

priest.

Biography

Born in

Piazza Brembana Piazza Brembana (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about north of Bergamo. Piazza Brembana borders the following municipalities: ...

in 1943, fourth of five children, he completed his studies between

Rezzato Rezzato (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, Lombardy. It is bounded by the comunes of Brescia, Botticino, Castenedolo, Mazzano and Nuvolera. It is located at the foot of the Alps and a few kilometres from Lake Garda. It is th ...

and

Cermenate Cermenate (Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about south of Como. Cermenate borders the following municipalities: Bregnano, Cantù, Cari ...

. He entered the Scalabrinian Congregation in 1961, to be ordained priest on 8 March 1970. He left Italy for Brazil as a missionary in following November. From 1988 to 1998 he was director of the ''Centro Missionero P. Luigi Valtulini'' in

Ciudad del Este Ciudad del Este (, Spanish for Eastern City; often shortened as CDE) is the second-largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. It is located 327 km east of Asunción, the capital, and i ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

; and from 1999 to 2004 he was

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Elected titular bishop of Furnos Maior in 2006, he was ordained as auxiliary bishop of

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

on 17 March 2006, and moved to

Caxias do Sul Caxias do Sul () is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. It was established by Italian Brazilian, Italian immigrants on June 20, 1890. Today it is the second Largest cities in R ...

as coadjutor bishopPapa nomeia bispo de Caxias do Sul membro de Pontifício Conselho
/ref> on 16 June 2010. He succeeded the see on 6 July 2011, and remained in office until 26 June 2019 when

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted his resignation.

Gallery

Image:São Romédio 140 anos.jpg, Bishop Ruffinoni celebrates the 140th year foundation of

São Romédio Community The São Romédio Community () is an historic neighbourhood in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. History The community was founded in mid-1876 during the Italian colonization of the Rio Grande do Sul. (Some immigrants had already arrived at Caxias do Sul ...

, 20 April 2016.

Honours and awards

References

External links

Profile of Mons. Ruffinoni
''www.catholic-hierarchy.org''
Page of diocese of Caxias do Sul
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffinoni, Alessandro Carmelo 1943 births Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Brazil Clergy from the Province of Bergamo Italian expatriates in Brazil Roman Catholic bishops of Porto Alegre Roman Catholic bishops of Caxias do Sul