Marini was born in Valverde,
Italy, and was
ordained a priest of the
Catholic Church on 27 June 1965. He holds a
doctorate in
liturgy from the Benedictine-run College of
Sant'Anselmo. In 1975, Marini became personal secretary to
Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, the chief architect of the liturgical reforms that followed Vatican II. From 1987 to 2007, Marini was the Master of the
Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, the group responsible for organizing the details of papal liturgies and other celebrations. He was seen at the pope's side in every such celebration. He was appointed
Titular Bishop of
Martirano on 14 February 1998 and was consecrated on 19 March by Pope John Paul II. On 29 September 2003 he was raised to the rank of archbishop. On 1 October 2007, after Marini had served twenty years as Master, Pope Benedict appointed him president of the
Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. He was confirmed to another five-year term in that post by Pope Francis on 10 March 2015. Three days after the death of
Pope John Paul II in April 2005, Marini published a guide to the rites and decision-making authority during the weeks until the election of a new pope. In April 2013, in an interview with the Costa Rican newspaper
La Nacion, Marini indicated his openness to the idea of same-sex civil unions being recognised by civil law: "In these discussions, it is necessary, for example, to recognize the union of people of the same sex, because there are many couples who suffer because their civil rights are not recognized", but went on to say, "What cannot be recognized is that that couple be a marriage." He also expressed enthusiasm for the newly elected
Pope Francis: "It's a breath of fresh air; it's opening a window onto springtime and onto hope. We had been breathing the waters of a swamp and it had a bad smell. We'd been in a church afraid of everything, with problems such as Vatileaks and the paedophilia scandals. With Francis we're talking about positive things.... there's a different air of freedom, a church that's closer to the poor and less problematic". and has headed its committee for liturgy. He was named a member of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in October 2016. During the night of 30/31 October 2016, he suffered a
stroke. On 18 May 2020, Marini concelebrated Mass with Pope Francis for the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Paul II. The Mass was celebrated
ad orientem at John Paul's tomb in
St. Peter's Basilica. ==Activity as liturgist==