Ezechiele Ramin
Encyclopedia
Father Ezechiele Ramin MCCJ (Padua
, Italy
9 February 1953 - Aripuanã
, Mato Grosso
, Brazil
24 July 1985), familiarly known as "Lele" in Italy and "Ezequiel" in Brazil, was an Italian
Comboni
missionary
and artist
who was defined a martyr of charity
by Pope John Paul II
after his murder in Brazil while defending the rights of the farmers and the Suruí
natives of the Rondônia
area against the local landowners
.
region
of Italy) in 1953, the fourth of six sons in a modest family. He studied at a Liceo classico
in a Catholic school
(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 order of the Comboni
Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus
; his studies brought him to move first to Florence
, then to Venegono Inferiore
(in the Province of Varese
) and finally to Chicago
, where he graduated from the Catholic Theological Union
. After having experienced missionary work with impoverished American Indians
in South Dakota
and later, for one year, in Baja California
(Mexico
), he was ordained a priest
on 28 September 1980 in his native Padua. He was assigned to a parish
in Naples
but, following the 1980 Irpinia earthquake
, 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 following year he moved to Troia in Apulia
, where he acted as a focal point for vocational
groups.
, in Rondônia (Brazil). On January 20, 1984, he moved to Brasília
, where he underwent further education in pastoral care
, 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
Suruí tribes had only recently been forced to become sedentary by being allocated land by the Brazilian government and were growing restless.
Inspired by the teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
, he put himself to the front in their struggle for justice, trying to lead them to a pacific 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 of being killed; in many of the letters he wrote to his family in that year he wonders if he will ever see them again.
leader, chaired a meeting in Fazenda
Catuva in Aripuanã
, in the nearby state of Mato Grosso
, 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, 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 Father 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
until their arrival.
He was buried in the Padua Cemetery.
Some days after the event Pope John Paul II defined Father Ezechiele Ramin a "martyr of charity".
Dom Ivo Lorscheiter
, the then-President of CNBB (the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops
), took inspiration from Father Ramin's murder to urge the Brazilian society to drive towards a deep "structural change".
The reaction to Father 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 Father Ramin had been trying to help, and some days later another farm manager was shot.
In 1988, two of the men who shot Father Ramin - Deuzelio Goncalves Fraga and Altamiro Flauzino - were condemned to respectively 24 and 25 years' imprisonment
by the Cuiabá
tribunal. Others have not been identified nor arrested.
and playing football; 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 Father 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 consistent number of drawing
s, especially in charcoal
, that were subject of an exhibition
held in 2010 in his native city of Padua, promoted by the local Comune
(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 also liked to document his experiences through photography
.
In 2005 - the twentieth anniversary of his death - he was remembered by Padua
Bishop
Antonio Mattiazzo in an initiative about modern martyrs; in the same year, a bronze sculpture
by Ettore Grego in Father Ezechiele's memory was unvelied by Padua Mayor Flavio Zanonato
in Piazza
San Giuseppe
, in front of the church
Father Ramin used to frequent as a child and a young man.
Again in 2005, the Chicago Catholic Theological Union where Father Ramin studied commissioned an icon
bearing Father Ezechiele's image to the renowned icon painter Robert Lentz
, who represented Father Ramin with a turtle dove
to symbolise his belief in nonviolence
. The presence of a halo
around Father Ezechiele's head is, however, improper according to the Catholic iconography, as Father Ramin has not been officially recognised as a Saint
. Lentz, however, has often added halos to icons representing martyrs not conventionally recognised as saints such as Albert Einstein
, César Chávez
and Heȟáka Sápa
(Black Elk).
In 2010 him and sister 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 Father 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
, the Italian national television network
, commissioned La casa bruciata, a TV movie inspired by Father Ezechiele Ramin's life. It was directed
by Massimo Spano with a soundtrack
by Ennio Morricone
and featuring Giulio Scarpati.
Two Italian Comuni named a street
after Father Ezechiele Ramin: Padua, the city of his birth, and Rome
.
Cadoneghe
, in the province of Padua
, entitled an auditorium
to Father Ramin.
Padua entitled to Father Ramin a nursery school
.
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
in Andria (in Apulia) dedicated its meeting and recreation room to Father Ezechiele Ramin.
In Brazil, in Picos
(Piauí
), the Angoli di Mondo association supported the building and activation of a day care
centre for street children
that was entitled to Father Ramin.
Father Teresino Serra, are trying to put forward a cause for Father Ezechiele's martyrdom (and therefore his status as a Blessed
and possibly as a Saint) to be formally recognised by the Catholic Church, although the Comboni missionary community in Latin America
seem reluctant because "for them and the people who knew him, Ramin is already a saint".
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
9 February 1953 - Aripuanã
Aripuanã
Aripuanã is a town and municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. It is the seventh largest city in the world by land area. As of the 2000 census it had 26,547 people....
, Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
24 July 1985), familiarly known as "Lele" in Italy and "Ezequiel" in Brazil, was an Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
Comboni
Daniel Comboni
Daniel Comboni was a Roman Catholic missionary and Saint.-Early life:He was born at Limone sul Garda, Brescia, Italy, into a family of cultivators employed by one of the rich local proprietors...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who was defined a martyr of charity
Martyr of charity
In the Catholic church, a martyr of charity is someone who dies as a result of administering Christian charity. While a martyr of the faith dies through being persecuted for being a Catholic or for being a Christian, a martyr of charity dies through practising charity motivated by Christianity...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
after his murder in Brazil while defending the rights of the farmers and the Suruí
Suruí
The Suruí, also called the Suruí-Paíter, are an indigenous people who live in the Rondônia region of Brazil.First prolonged contact with the modern world came in the late 1960s, the Brazilian government laid the 2,000-mile Trans-Amazon Highway through Rondônia...
natives of the Rondônia
Rondônia
Rondônia is a state in Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, and in the south is Bolivia. Its capital is Porto Velho. The state was named after Candido Rondon...
area against the local landowners
Land tenure
Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to "hold" the land . The sovereign monarch, known as The Crown, held land in its own right. All private owners are either its tenants or sub-tenants...
.
Life
Ezechiele Ramin was born in Padua (in the VenetoVeneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
region
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
of Italy) in 1953, the fourth of six sons in a modest family. He studied at a Liceo classico
Liceo classico
Liceo classico is a secondary school type in Italy. The educational curriculum lasts five years, and students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age....
in a Catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
(Collegio Vescovile Gregorio Barbarigo) where he became aware of the poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
widespread throughout the world. This pushed him to join the charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
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 order of the Comboni
Daniel Comboni
Daniel Comboni was a Roman Catholic missionary and Saint.-Early life:He was born at Limone sul Garda, Brescia, Italy, into a family of cultivators employed by one of the rich local proprietors...
Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
; his studies brought him to move first to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, then to Venegono Inferiore
Venegono Inferiore
Venegono Inferiore is a comune in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 35 km northwest of Milan and about 11 km southeast of Varese...
(in the Province of Varese
Province of Varese
The Province of Varese is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese but its largest city is Busto Arsizio....
) and finally to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he graduated from the Catholic Theological Union
Catholic Theological Union
The Catholic Theological Union, located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, is one of the largest schools of theology in the world and trains men and women for lay and clerical ministry within the Roman Catholic Church...
. After having experienced missionary work with impoverished American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and later, for one year, in Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
(Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
), he was ordained a priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on 28 September 1980 in his native Padua. He was assigned to a parish
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
but, following the 1980 Irpinia earthquake
1980 Irpinia earthquake
The 1980 Irpinia earthquake took place in the Irpinia region in Southern Italy on Sunday, November 23, 1980. Measuring 6.89 on the Richter Scale, the quake, centered on the village of Conza, killed 2,914 people, injured more than 10,000 and left 300,000 homeless. It is known in Italy as Terremoto...
, he moved to San Mango sul Calore
San Mango sul Calore
San Mango sul Calore is a village and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of Italy.-Geography:It is east of Naples and north of Salerno, about twenty kilometers from the city of Avellino. Nearby, Monte Tuoro is covered with dense forest, where asparagus and a variety of...
to assist the victims; he returned to Naples in 1981 where he organised one of the first pacific demonstrations against camorra
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
. The following year he moved to Troia in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
, where he acted as a focal point for vocational
Vocation
A vocation , is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially 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.-Senses:...
groups.
Cacoal
In 1984, he was assigned to CacoalCacoal
Cacoal is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. Its population as of 2008 was 78,263 and its area is 3,793 km². It is the fourth-largest city in Rondônia state.-External links:...
, in Rondônia (Brazil). On January 20, 1984, he moved to Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, where he underwent further education in pastoral care
Pastoral care
Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...
, 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
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
needs me
Vocation
A vocation , is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially 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.-Senses:...
, 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 peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
Suruí tribes had only recently been forced to become sedentary by being allocated land by the Brazilian government and were growing restless.
Inspired by the teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
, he put himself to the front in their struggle for justice, trying to lead them to a pacific 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 of 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 24 July 1985, Father Ramin, alongside a local trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader, chaired a meeting in Fazenda
Fazenda
Fazendas were coffee plantations that spread into the interior of Brazil between 1840 and 1896. They created major export commodities for Brazilian trade, but also led to intensification of slavery in Brazil.- Creation of fazendas :...
Catuva in Aripuanã
Aripuanã
Aripuanã is a town and municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. It is the seventh largest city in the world by land area. As of the 2000 census it had 26,547 people....
, in the nearby state of Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
, 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, 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 Father 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
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
until their arrival.
He was buried in the Padua Cemetery.
Some days after the event Pope John Paul II defined Father Ezechiele Ramin a "martyr of charity".
Dom Ivo Lorscheiter
Ivo Lorscheiter
Bishop José Ivo Lorscheiter was a Brazilian clergyman in the Roman Catholic church. He was a bishop for over 38 years, from 1965 to his retirement in 2004...
, the then-President of CNBB (the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops
Roman Catholicism in Brazil
The Roman Catholic Church in Brazil is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome, and the very influential Brazilian Conference of Bishops , composed by over four hundred primary and auxiliary bishops and archbishops. There are over 250...
), took inspiration from Father Ramin's murder to urge the Brazilian society to drive towards a deep "structural change".
The reaction to Father 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 Father Ramin had been trying to help, and some days later another farm manager was shot.
In 1988, two of the men who shot Father Ramin - Deuzelio Goncalves Fraga and Altamiro Flauzino - were condemned to respectively 24 and 25 years' imprisonment
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
by the Cuiabá
Cuiabá
Under the Koppen climate classification, Cuiaba features a tropical wet and dry climate. Cuiabá is famous for its searing heat, although temperatures in winter can arrive sporadically at 10 degrees, indeed atypical, caused by cold fronts coming from the south, and that may only last one or two...
tribunal. Others have not been identified nor arrested.
Other activities
Father Ezechiele Ramin's main hobbies were cyclingCycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
and playing football; he also wrote poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. His numerous letters to his friends and family were collected and published in a volume edited
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
by Ercole Ongaro and by Father Ramin's brother Fabiano, entitled Testimone della speranza - lettere dal 1971 al 1985 (Witness of Hope - Letters 1971 - 1985). Several of them (in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) are publicly available.
He also produced a consistent number of drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s, especially in charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
, that were subject of an exhibition
Exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
held in 2010 in his native city of Padua, promoted by the local Comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
) and organised by Maria Cristina Ferin, Federica Millozzi and Fabiano Ramin. Several of them had already been collected in a book and published.
He also liked to document his experiences through photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
.
Tributes
Several initiatives in honour of Father Ezechiele Ramin are regularly held both in his native Padua and in Cacoal, mostly linked to promote peaceful protest ahead of armed revolution and to awaken the young people's awareness and interest in the missionary world.In 2005 - the twentieth anniversary of his death - he was remembered by Padua
Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua is a see of the Catholic Church in the Veneto, northern Italy. It was erected in the 3rd century, and is a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Venice. The current Bishop of Padova is Antonio Mattiazzo....
Bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
Antonio Mattiazzo in an initiative about modern martyrs; in the same year, a bronze sculpture
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
by Ettore Grego in Father Ezechiele's memory was unvelied by Padua Mayor Flavio Zanonato
Flavio Zanonato
Flavio Zanonato is an Italian politician who is currently Mayor of Padua.A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and of its successor parties, he is now a member of the Democratic Party....
in Piazza
Piazza
A piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...
San Giuseppe
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, in front of the church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
Father Ramin used to frequent as a child and a young man.
Again in 2005, the Chicago Catholic Theological Union where Father Ramin studied commissioned an icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
bearing Father Ezechiele's image to the renowned icon painter Robert Lentz
Robert Lentz
Robert Lentz OFM is an American Franciscan friar and religious icon painter. He is particularly known for incorporating contemporary social themes into his icon work. He belongs to the Order of Friars Minor, and is currently stationed in Holy Name Province.-Life:Lentz was born in rural Colorado to...
, who represented Father Ramin with a turtle dove
Turtle Dove
The European Turtle Dove , also known as Turtle Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons.-Distribution & Status:...
to symbolise his belief in nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
. The presence of a halo
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
around Father Ezechiele's head is, however, improper according to the Catholic iconography, as Father Ramin has not been officially recognised as a Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. Lentz, however, has often added halos to icons representing martyrs not conventionally recognised as saints such as Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, César Chávez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
and Heȟáka Sápa
Black Elk
Heȟáka Sápa was a famous Wičháša Wakȟáŋ of the Oglala Lakota . He was Heyoka and a second cousin of Crazy Horse.-Life:...
(Black Elk).
In 2010 him and sister Dorothy Stang
Dorothy Stang
Sister Dorothy Mae Stang, S.N.D., was an American-born, Brazilian member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She was murdered in Anapu, a city in the state of Pará, in the Amazon Basin of Brazil...
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 Father 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
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, the Italian national television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, commissioned La casa bruciata, a TV movie inspired by Father Ezechiele Ramin's life. It was directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Massimo Spano with a soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
by Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
and featuring Giulio Scarpati.
Two Italian Comuni named a street
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
after Father Ezechiele Ramin: Padua, the city of his birth, and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Cadoneghe
Cadoneghe
Cadoneghe is a town and comune in the province of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The town is approximately 50 from Venice, the capital of the region. The city is situated on the Brenta River....
, in the province of Padua
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...
, entitled an auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
to Father Ramin.
Padua entitled to Father Ramin a nursery school
Nursery school
A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
.
Again in Padua, the non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
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 of Andria
Richard was Bishop of Andria, Italy. He was appointed to the see of Andria by felllow Englishman Pope Adrian IV. In 1179, Richard was one of the Bishops present at the Eleventh Ecumenical Council held by Pope Alexander III. He remained in his office until his death, a period of well over 40 years....
in Andria (in Apulia) dedicated its meeting and recreation room to Father Ezechiele Ramin.
In Brazil, in Picos
Picos
Picos, is a municipality in the state of Piaui. Known as the Model City. Its residents are from various parts of the country. It is located in south-central region of Piaui. It is economically the most developed city in the region...
(Piauí
Piauí
Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...
), the Angoli di Mondo association supported the building and activation of a day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
centre for street children
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
that was entitled to Father Ramin.
Beatification Cause
The Comboni missionaries, led by Superior GeneralSuperior general
A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...
Father Teresino Serra, are trying to put forward a cause for Father Ezechiele's martyrdom (and therefore his status as a Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
and possibly as a Saint) to be formally recognised by the Catholic Church, although the Comboni missionary community in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
seem reluctant because "for them and the people who knew him, Ramin is already a saint".