Ezechiele Ramin
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Ezechiele "Lele" Ramin, (
Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...
: Ezequiel; 9 February 1953 – 24 July 1985) was an Italian Comboni missionary and artist. He was described as a
martyr of charity In the Catholic Church, a martyr of charity is someone who dies as a result of a charitable act or of administering Christian charity. While a martyr of the faith, which is what is usually meant by the word "martyr" (both in canon law and in lay ...
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 ...
after his murder in Brazil while defending the rights of the farmers and the Suruí natives of the
Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...
area against local
landowners In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals ...
. His cause for
canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...
was opened in 2016, granting him the title "
Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
".


Life

Ezechiele Ramin was born in Padua (in the
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of Italy) in 1953, the fourth of six sons in a modest family. He studied at a
Liceo classico The ''liceo classico'' or ''ginnasio'' () is the oldest public secondary education in Italy, secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 196 ...
in a
Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
(Collegio Vescovile Gregorio Barbarigo) where he became aware of the poverty widespread throughout the world. This pushed him to join the charity ''Mani Tese'' ("Outstretched Hands"), organising several camps to collect funds in order to support small projects related to the association. In 1972, he decided to join the
religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...
of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus; his studies brought him to move first to
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, then to
Venegono Inferiore Venegono Inferiore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about southeast of Varese. As of 31 December 2018, it had a population of 6,097 and an area of .A ...
(in the
Province of Varese The province of Varese () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese (population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is Busto Arsizio. The headquarters of AgustaWestland, the compa ...
) and finally to Chicago, where he graduated from
Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was formed in Hyde Park as a union of schools from three Catholic religious institutes and has since been sponsored by 23 institu ...
and served in the St. Ludmila Parish. After having experienced missionary work with impoverished Native Americans in
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
and later, for one year, in
Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
(
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
), he was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
on September 28, 1980 in his native Padua. He was assigned to a
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
but, following the
1980 Irpinia earthquake The 1980 Irpinia earthquake () took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, and 250,000 homeless. Eart ...
, he moved to San Mango sul Calore to assist the victims; he returned to Naples in 1981 where he organised one of the first pacific demonstrations against
camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...
. The following year he moved to Troia in Apulia, where he acted as a focal point for
vocation A vocation () is an Work (human activity), occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. ...
al groups.


Cacoal

In 1984, he was assigned to
Cacoal Cacoal is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. It has an area of . It has a Tropical savanna climate. As of 2020 the estimated population was 85,893. It is the fourth-largest city in Rondônia state. The city is served by Capital ...
, in Rondônia (Brazil). On January 20, 1984 he moved to
Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...
, where he underwent further education in
pastoral care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...
, and finally reached Rondônia in July of that year. He seemed wary of the situation in Cacoal, but accepted his assignment with the words "If Christ needs me, how can I refuse?" There he encountered a difficult situation: the many small farmers of the area were oppressed, through both legal and illegal actions, by the local landowners. Also, the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
Suruí tribes had only recently been forced to become sedentary by being allocated land by the
Brazilian government The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative ...
and were growing restless. Inspired by the teachings of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...
, he put himself to the front in their struggle for justice, trying to lead them to a pacifistic protest rather than to start an armed revolution. The situation he was in brought him to fear for his life. In early 1985 he was threatened with being killed; in many of the letters he wrote to his family in that year he wonders if he will ever see them again.


Death and aftermath

On July 24, 1985, Ramin, alongside the local trade union leader Adilio de Souza, chaired a meeting in Fazenda Catuva in
Ji-Paraná Ji-Paraná is the second most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Rondônia, with a population of 130,009, and the 16th most populous city of the Brazilian North Region, the 210th most populous city of Brazil, and the 113th of the Brazi ...
, in the nearby state of
Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...
, trying to persuade the small farmers employed there to avoid taking arms against the landowners, going against a request of caution issued by his superiors. On his way back with de Souza, at midday, he was attacked by seven ''pistoleros'' (hired gunmen) who shot him more than 50 times. Before dying, he whispered the words "I forgive you". As Ramin's body couldn't be recovered by his fellow missionaries for about 24 hours after his death, a group of Suruí indios kept
vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...
until their arrival. He was buried in the Padua Cemetery. Some days after the event Pope John Paul II declared Ramin a "martyr of charity". Ivo Lorscheiter, the then-President of CNBB (the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops), took inspiration from Ramin's murder to urge the Brazilian society to work towards a deep "structural change". The reaction to Ramin's murder by the local farmers went against his teachings: in November of the same year a landowner and his general manager were killed by the same people Ramin had been trying to help, and some days later another farm manager was shot. In 1988, two of the men who shot Ramin – Deuzelio Goncalves Fraga and Altamiro Flauzino – were condemned to respectively 24 and 25 years'
imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
by the
Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...
tribunal. Others have not been identified nor arrested. Some years after Ramin's death another Comboni priest from Padua, Pietro Settin, visited the area where Ramin was murdered, discovering that Adilio de Souza, the union leader who had been with Ramin on the day of his death, had become the owner of a piece of land. Settin theorized that he might have received it in exchange for betraying Ramin.


Other activities

Ezechiele Ramin's main hobbies were cycling and playing
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
; he also wrote poetry. His numerous letters to his friends and family were collected and published in a volume edited by Ercole Ongaro and by Ramin's brother Fabiano, entitled ''Testimone della speranza – lettere dal 1971 al 1985'' (''Witness of Hope – Letters 1971 – 1985''). Several of them (in Italian) are publicly available. He also produced a considerable number of drawings, especially in
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
, that were the subject of an exhibition held in 2010 in his native city of Padua, promoted by the local ''
Comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' (municipality) and organised by Maria Cristina Ferin, Federica Millozzi and Fabiano Ramin. Several of them had already been collected in a book and published. He documented his experiences through photography.


Tributes

Several initiatives in honour of Ezechiele Ramin are regularly held both in his native Padua and in Cacoal, mostly linked to promoting peaceful protest instead of armed revolution and to awakening the young people's awareness and interest in the missionary world. In 2005 – the twentieth anniversary of his death – he was remembered by
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
Archbishop Antonio Mattiazzo in an initiative about modern martyrs; in the same year, a
bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...
by Ettore Grego in Ramin's memory was unveiled by Padua
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
Flavio Zanonato in
Piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
San Giuseppe, in front of the
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
Ramin used to frequent as a child and young man. Also in 2005,
Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was formed in Hyde Park as a union of schools from three Catholic religious institutes and has since been sponsored by 23 institu ...
in Chicago, where Ramin studied, commissioned an
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
bearing his image by the renowned icon painter Robert Lentz, who represented Ramin with a turtle dove to symbolise his belief in
nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
. The presence of a
halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...
around Ramin's head is, however, improper according to the Catholic iconography, as Ramin has not been officially recognised as a
Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
. Lentz, though, has often added halos to icons representing martyrs not conventionally recognised as saints, such as
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
,
César Chávez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...
and Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk). In 2010 he and
Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...
Dorothy Stang were chosen by the Comboni missionaries in Brazil as symbols of the local people's struggle for land ownership. Besides a collection of his letters to friends and family, three further books about Ramin's life have been published: ''Lele – creare primavera'' (''Lele – Creating Spring''), by Ezio Sorio, ''Lele vive'' (''Lele Is Alive''), by Paulo Lima (2005), and ''Ezechiele Ramin: la forza di una testimonianza'' (''Ezechiele Ramin: the Strength of a Witness'') by fellow Comboni missionary Giovanni Munari. In 1998
RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...
, the Italian national television network, commissioned ''La casa bruciata'', a TV movie inspired by his life. It was directed by Massimo Spano with a soundtrack by
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...
and featured
Giulio Scarpati Giulio Scarpati (born 20 February 1956) is an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Rome, pretty active on stage, after several small film roles Scarpati had his breakout role in 1991 as Marco, the main character in the Giuseppe Piccioni's dr ...
. In late 2011 a musical reading of selected passages from ''Ezechiele Ramin testimone della speranza. Lettere e scritti 1971 – 1985'' was organized in Padova on
Human Rights Day Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...
, with actor
Andrea Pennacchi Andrea Pennacchi (born 11 October 1969) is an Italian actor, playwright, theater director, and author. Biography Pennacchi was born in Padua. In his youth, he was a rugby player. He graduated with a degree in modern languages and literature at t ...
and the international "music collective" Luomodellazappa. Two Italian ''Comuni'' named a street after "Padre Ezechiele Ramin": Padua, the city of his birth, and Rome. Cadoneghe, in the
province of Padua The province of Padua () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua. Geography It has an area of 2,142 km2, and a total population of 936,492 (2016) making it the most populated provi ...
, dedicated an
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...
to him and Padua named a nursery school after him. Again in Padua, the non-profit association ''Angoli di Mondo'' (''Corners of the World'') opened a public information centre, the Centro di Documentazione Ezechiele Ramin. The parish of Saint
Richard of Andria Richard was Bishop of Andria, Italy. He was appointed to the see of Andria by fellow Englishman Pope Adrian IV. In 1179, Richard was one of the Bishops present at the Eleventh Ecumenical Council (Third Lateran, 1179) held by Pope Alexander III ...
in
Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Apulia region of Southern Italy. It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind ...
(in Apulia) dedicated its meeting and recreation room to Ramin. In Brazil, in
Picos Picos is a municipality in the state of Piauí in the Northeast region of Brazil. Picos is the state's third-largest city, located in the south-central region of Piauí and is the most economically developed city in the region. The city's financ ...
(
Piauí Piauí ( ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP. Piauí has the shortest coastline of any coas ...
), the ''Angoli di Mondo'' association supported the building and activation of a
day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...
centre for
street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers ...
that was named after Ramin.


Beatification cause

The Comboni missionaries, led by
Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...
Teresino Serra, are advancing the cause for Ramin's martyrdom (and therefore his status as a blessed and possibly as a saint) to be formally recognised by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Among the Comboni Missionary community in Latin America, it is said that "for them and the people who knew him, Ramin is already a saint". He is considered a "witness of the faith".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramin, Ezechiele 1953 births 1985 deaths Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Martyred Roman Catholic priests Clergy from Padua Roman Catholic missionaries in Brazil Rondônia 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Italian Servants of God People murdered in Brazil Italian people murdered abroad Deaths by firearm in Brazil Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Roman Catholic missionaries in Mexico Italian expatriates in the United States Italian expatriates in Mexico Italian expatriates in Brazil 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Brazilian Servants of God