Cause of beatification of the missionary martyr Fr. Ezechiele Ramin

Fr. Ezechiele Ramin,
Comboni missionary.
 

Conclusion of the diocesan phase
of the cause of beatification
of the missionary martyr
Fr. Ezechiele Ramin

On Saturday, March 25 the diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Father Ezechiele Ramin, a Comboni missionary (MCCJ), killed in Brazil on July 24, 1985 concluded. The official act took place in his home parish, St. Joseph's church in Padua, in the presence of members of the diocesan ecclesiastical Court, Comboni representatives, missionaries and many believers. The courtroom proceedings will now be delivered to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Born in Padova on February 9, 1953, Ezechiele Ramin enters the Comboni Missionaries in 1974 and took his first vows on June 5, 1976. He continued his formation with experiences in Uganda, the United States, Mexico. On May 15, 1980 he professed his perpetual vows, and on 28 September of the same year, in Italy, he was ordained a priest. On January 20, 1984 he arrived in Brazil, and then went to Cacoal in Rondonia, where he takes to heart the problem of indigenous land distribution.

Fr. Ezechiele was brutally killed on 24 July 1985 as he was returning from a mission of peace: he had met some landless farmers who had occupied part of the Fazenda Catuva, on the border with the state of Mato Grosso, and had asked them to withdraw. A few days later Pope John Paul II describes him as a "martyr of charity". According to information sent to Agenzia Fides from Brazil, after more than thirty years "the memory of Father Ezechiele is still very much alive, especially among indigenous peoples and farmers. His figure still animates and illuminates the faith and commitment of Christian communities and popular organizations". [See Fides 03/09/2015 and Agenzia Fides 27/03/2017].

[Click here to see a brief video, in Portuguese, on the history of Fr. Ezechiele Ramin].