Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cacoal (Agenzia Fides) - On 24 July 1985 Father Ezechiele Ramin, a Comboni missionary (MCCJ) originally from Padova (Italy), was murdered in Cacoal, in the northwestern state of Rondonia, Brazil. Father Ezechiele, a 32-year-old priest, arrived in Rondonia the year before and he immediately defended and took care of the poorest, especially the indigenous people and the landless, whose existence was seriously threatened by unscrupulous large landowners. In this context of violence, Fr. Ezechiele was brutally killed 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. His murder had a major impact at a national and international level.
According to information sent to Agenzia Fides by Sister Chiara Dusi, a Comboni missionary, and Father Rafael Vigolo, a Comboni missionary, after 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. We are beginning to gather testimonies, so that the Bishop of the diocese of Ji-Parana, Mgr. Bruno Pedron, may have sufficient information to request the opening of the canonization process". (SL) (Agenzia Fides 03/09/2015)
