Francesco Canalini (born 23 March 1936) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

[1] His early assignments in the diplomatic service included work at a meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in 1974.

[2] On 28 May 1986, Pope John Paul II appointed him a titular archbishop and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Indonesia.

[4] Pope John Paul II visited Indonesia while Canalini was nuncio there.

[7][8] On 8 September 2004, Pope John Paul II named him Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland and to Liechtenstein.