Ambrogio Ravasi (7 February 1929 - 30 October 2020) was an Italian-born Kenyan

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marsabit from 1981 until 2006. He was appointed bishop on 19 June 1981 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. His age-related resignation as bishop took effect on 25 November 2006. He died on 30 October 2020 as Bishop Emeritus of Marsabit. He was 91 years old at the time.

Early life and education

He was born on 7 February 1929 in

Bellusco Bellusco ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the la ...

, in the Archdiocese of Milan, in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Priest

He was ordained a priest of the

Consolata Missionaries The Institute of Consolata Missionaries (), commonly called the Consolata Missionaries, is a Catholic religious congregation of Pontifical Right with branches for both men and women. Its members add the nominal I.M.C. after their names to indicat ...

on 9 February 1957, in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, Archdiocese of Washington, District of Columbia, United States by Archbishop

Amleto Giovanni Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. Cicogn ...

, Titular Archbishop of

Laodicea in Phrygia The Diocese of Laodicea in Phrygia, is an important titular diocese, centered on the biblical city of Laodicea on the Lycus in modern Turkey. The Church at Laodicea was a centre of Christianity from a very early point. The New Testament indicate ...

Bishop

On 19 June 1981 The Holy Father John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Marsabit, Kenya. He was consecrated Bishop on 18 October 1981 at Bellusco, in the

Archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Ambr ...

in Italy. The Principal Consecrator was

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Maurice Michael Otunga Maurice Michael Otunga (January 1923 – 6 September 2003) was a Kenyan Catholic prelate and cardinal. He served as the Archbishop of Nairobi from 1971 until his resignation in 1997. Pope Paul VI elevated him into the cardinalate in 197 ...

, Archbishop of Nairobi assisted by Bishop

Caesar Gatimu The Right Reverend Caesar Gatimu (18 May 1921 – 20 February 1987) was a Roman Catholic prelate in Kenya, who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Nyeri from 1964 until his retirement in 1987. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Nyeri fr ...

, Bishop of Nyeri and Bishop Ferdinando Maggioni, Bishop of Alessandria (della Paglia). He retired as bishop on 25 November 2006, having reached the retirement age in 2004. He was succeeded by Bishop

Peter Kihara Kariuki Peter Kihara Kariuki I.M.C. (born 6 February 1954) is a Kenyan Roman Catholic prelate who is the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marsabit, Kenya since 2006. He previously served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Muranga, ...

I.M.C. The Institute of Consolata Missionaries (), commonly called the Consolata Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious congregation of Pontifical Right with branches for both men and women. Its members add the nominal I.M.C. after their ...

as the Ordinary of the diocese. Bishop Ambrogio Ravasi continued to stay in

Marsabit Marsabit is a town in the northern Marsabit County in Kenya. It is situated in the former Eastern Province and is almost surrounded by the Marsabit National Park. The town is located east of the centre of the East African Rift at an elevatio ...

as Bishop Emeritus, as he so chose.

Illness and death

He fell down and broke one of his hip joints, several weeks before his death. He was taken to a hospital so that his broken hip could be operated upon. While there, he was found to have an emergency heart condition that required an operation, which was done. His doctors gave him one month to recover from the heart operation before they could fix the broken hip. He was moved to ''Consolata Missionaries Regional House'' in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya's capital city. While there, his condition deteriorated and he had to be re-admitted to hospital. He died there on the morning of 30 October 2020, at the age of 91 years. On 6 November 2006, he was buried at the ''Maria Mfariji (Mary the Consoler) Shrine'' in Marsabit, as he had willed.

Succession table

(25 November 1964 - 19 June 1981)

References

External links

Late Italian-born Bishop in Kenya Mourned as “devout shepherd, of impeccable character”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravasi, Ambrogio 1929 births 2020 deaths Italian Roman Catholic bishops in Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Kenya 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Kenya Roman Catholic bishops of Marsabit