Hundreds filed past the message “Rest in Peace Pope Francis” on the reader board outside St. Anthony Church in North Providence Monday on their way inside to honor the late Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio.
Comparisons between the two titans of their worlds — Ruggerio, of state politics, and Francis of the Catholic Church — were unavoidable during the Mass in celebration of Ruggerio.
Both died on April 21. Ruggerio was 76, and Pope Francis was 88.
The Rev. Edward Cardente, who led Ruggerio’s funeral Mass, called it a “double whammy.”
“Just as Pope Francis was known throughout the world, so was Senate President Ruggerio known throughout the state of Rhode Island,” Cardente said.
Indeed, the crowd for Ruggerio’s Mass spilled out from the Mineral Spring Avenue church, filling a room in the rectory set up with projector screens and folding chairs. Cars lined the streets of the neighborhood around the church, as family, friends, elected officials, judges and union leaders from across the country gathered to pay their respects.
The attendee list included North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, Gov. Dan McKee, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation and former U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Gov. Gina Raimondo, who traveled from D.C. to attend the funeral.
“Donny was special, a dear friend,” Raimondo said in comments after the Mass. “We argued a lot. We probably disagreed more than we agreed. But he was always so respectful, a true gentleman.”
The pair of LaSalle Academy alumni, though both Democrats, differed on hot-button social issues like guns and reproductive rights during their overlap on Smith Hill. Raimondo served as governor from 2015 to 2021.
Ruggerio, a former administrator for the Laborers’ International Union of North America representing construction workers, was first elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1980. He served two terms before he successfully ran for the Senate, where he represented District 4, spanning northern Providence and North Providence, for the next four decades. He was elected Senate president by his colleagues in 2017.
Ruggerio was known for more conservative stances on social issues, while championing worker protections and expanding legal gambling. But colleagues remembered Ruggerio’s willingness to listen to views other than his own, and to change his views as time progressed.
‘Indestructible’
Ruggerio’s son, Charles Ruggerio, said his dad’s once formidable demeanor toward his family eased in his later years, too. In a remembrance given during the Mass, Charles Ruggerio described his father as “indestructible” and “old-school.”
“What he struggled to express in words, he demonstrated in actions,” Charles Ruggerio said of his dad, recalling the countless sports games, graduations and other celebratory events his father attended for his children.
But, as time went on, the elder Ruggerio’s hard facade softened, and his outward displays of affection towards his family, especially his grandchildren, were numerous.
“It was rare for him to end a phone call without saying ‘I love you,’” Charles Ruggerio said of his dad in his later years.
The late Senate president was known as a mentor to his colleagues at the State House, eager to pass on the knowledge and expertise he’d developed as the most senior member of the Rhode Island General Assembly and the “dean” of the Senate.
Despite the public nature of his life in politics, Ruggerio kept his personal life, including his health, private even to his family. Charles Ruggerio recalled a family trip to Disneyland Paris five years ago; his father kept up with his grandchildren despite being 71 years old, and having cancer — a diagnosis Charles Ruggerio didn’t know about at the time.
“He had cancer at least three times that I was aware of,” Charles Ruggerio said.
When Ruggerio publicly revealed he was again battling cancer in April 2024, amid visible signs of decline, he refused to say what kind, or when he had been diagnosed. This year, as illness forced Ruggerio to miss a majority of the Senate’s floor sessions, his aides continued to tout his recovery and promised an imminent return to the chamber.
Concern over Ruggerio’s ability to lead the Senate given his health problems divided Democratic lawmakers, with nearly one-third backing Sen. Ryan Pearson for Senate president over Ruggerio in a November caucus.
Ruggerio’s death has reopened the freshly healed wounds from the contentious leadership battle. Pearson is again vying for the president role while Ruggerio’s second-in-command, Senate Majority Leader Valarie Lawson, has teamed up with Sen. Frank Ciccone as a slate for president and majority leader, respectively.
Leadership elections Tuesday
The Senate, which has been on hiatus since Ruggerio’s death, is expected to elect its new president tomorrow afternoon, Greg Paré, a Senate spokesperson said. A party caucus will be held prior to the full Senate session, which is tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Lawson, Ciccone and Pearson all attended Ruggerio’s funeral, along with the rest of the chamber and members of the House of Representatives. Rep. Arthur Corvese, a North Providence Democrat and friend of Ruggerio, said the “Prayer of the Faithful” during the Mass.
Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, declined to comment after the Mass.
Pearson, who had a falling out with Ruggerio last year, said he did not hesitate to attend Ruggerio’s funeral.
“Donny was my friend for over 15 years,” Pearson, a Cumberland Democrat, said after the Mass. “Of course, I am here.”
Asked about the comparisons with Pope Francis, Pearson said, “Donny would be loving that.”
Charles Ruggerio also acknowledged the associations between his father and the leader of the Catholic Church.
“He would say, ‘always the bridesmaid, never the bride,’” Charles Ruggerio joked.
“But we know that couldn’t be further from the truth after seeing the tremendous outpouring of love this past week.”
Ruggerio passed the Rhode Island State House one last time around 1 p.m., as his funeral procession drove east on Smith Street en route to St. Francis Cemetery in Pawtucket.
A handful of state workers started gathering around 12:30 p.m. on the walkway outside the State House. The group swelled to a large crowd, including senators who arrived by bus following the funeral Mass, in time to watch the motorcade pass.
A lifelong North Providence resident, Ruggerio is survived by his children, Charles and Amanda; his sister Lisa Aceto; and his grandchildren, Ava, Mia, Natalie, and Jameson.
Reporter Alexander Castro contributed to this story.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current. For more pictures, visit their page.
