Tommaso Ruffo was an Italian archbishop of Ferrara and Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

.

Life

He was born in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, 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.

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

Giacomo Boncompagni

Giacomo Boncompagni was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII . He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, and Marquess of Vignola.A member of the Boncompagni family, he was a patron of arts and culture...

in the College of Cardinals

College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...

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

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

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

Papal conclave, 1721

The Papal conclave March 31 – May 8, 1721, convoked after the death of Pope Clement XI, was the conclave that elected to the Papacy Cardinal Michelangelo de' Conti, who took the name of Innocent XIII.- List of participants :...

 and the papal conclave, 1724

Papal conclave, 1724

The papal conclave of 1724 was called on the death of pope Innocent XIII. It began on 20 March 1724 and ended on 29 May that year in the election of pope Benedict XIII.-External links:* http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1724.html...

. He became bishop of Palestrina in 1726 and participated in the papal conclave, 1730

Papal conclave, 1730

The papal conclave of 5 March to 12 July 1730 elected pope Clement XII as the successor to pope Benedict XIII.- External links :* *...

. He was bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina 1738. and participated in the papal conclave, 1740

Papal conclave, 1740

The Papal conclave of 18 February to 17 August 1740, convoked after the death of Pope Clement XII on 6 February 1740, was one of the longest conclaves since the 13th century....

. He became Dean of the College of Cardinals

Dean of the College of Cardinals

The Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals is the president of the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, and as such always holds the rank of Cardinal Bishop. The Dean is not necessarily the longest-serving member of the whole College...

 and bishop of Ostia e Velletri in 1740, and died in Rome in 1753.