Ricardo Ramírez, C.S.B. (born September 12, 1936) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Ramirez served as the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Las Cruces The Diocese of Las Cruces ( la, Dioecesis Las Cruces, es, Diócesis de Las Cruces) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States, comprising the 10 southern counties i ...

in New Mexico from 1982 to 2013. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of San Antonio The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, and Sui iuris, sui juris Latin Church in full communion with the pope of Diocese of Rome, Rome. It encompasses in the U.S. state of Texa ...

in Texas from 1981 to 1982.

Biography

Early life

Ricardo Ramírez was born on September 12, 1936, in Bay City,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, as the second of the two children of Natividad and Maria (née Espinosa) Ramírez. Up to the sixth grade, he attended a segregated school for Mexican-American students. At that time, he started working after school to help the family finances. In 1942, Ramirez entered Jefferson Davis Grammar school in Bay City and

Bay City High School Bay City High School is a public high school located on Texas State Highway 35 on the western edge of Bay City, Texas, United States. School The school opened a new campus in 2002. During the 2015–16 school year, there were 1,002 students enro ...

in 1951, graduating in 1955. Ramírez then studied at the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where he obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1959. On September 12, 1960, Ramirez joined the

Congregation of St. Basil , image = Basilian_Fathers.png , image_size = 150px , abbreviation = CSB , nickname = Basilians , formation = , founding_location = Annonay, France , founders = , type ...

. He spent his first six months at a so-called boot camp in Michigan, then taught English and history in schools in Los Angeles and Houston. In 1963, Ramirez entered St. Basil's Seminary in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. In 1965, he finished his studies at the Conciliar Seminary of Mexico in Mexico City.

Priesthood

On December 10, 1966, Ramírez was ordained to the priesthood in the Congregation of St. Basil by Bishop

John Morkovsky John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

at St. Ann Catholic Church in Houston. After his ordination, Ramirez was assigned to St. Mary's Parish in

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

for six months. In 1967, he entered the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...

, graduating in 1968 with a

Master of Arts degree A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

. Ramirez then moved to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, where he served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to university students at the Centro Cultural Aragón. In 1970. he started working with the Family Religious Education Project in Tehuacán, Mexico, serving there until 1976. During this period, Ramírez also studied at the East Asian Pastoral Institute of

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

in Manila, Philippines (1973-1974). After returning to San Antonio in 1976, Remirez was appointed as executive vice president of the Mexican American Cultural Center (now the Mexican American Catholic College) in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio

On October 27, 1981,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Ramírez as an auxiliary bishop of San Antonio and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Vatarba. He was consecrated at the

Henry B. González Convention Center The Henry B. González Convention Center (formerly San Antonio Convention Center) is the City of San Antonio's convention center located in Downtown San Antonio, Downtown San Antonio, Texas, along the banks of the San Antonio River Walk, River Wa ...

in San Antonio, Texas, on December 6, 1981, by Archbishop

Patrick Flores Patricio Fernández Flores (July 26, 1929 – January 9, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served from 1979 to 2004 as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texa ...

, with Bishops Morkovsky and Rafael Ayala y Ayala serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

Bishop of Las Cruces

On August 17, 1982, John Paul II appointed Ramírez as the first bishop of Las Cruces. He was installed on October 18. 1982 at the

Pan American Center Pan American Center is a multi–purpose arena in Las Cruces, New Mexico, located on the campus of New Mexico State University. The arena has a current seating capacity of 12,515 people. The arena serves as home of the New Mexico State Aggies M ...

in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ramírez had to build the new diocese, creating a small diocesan office with one

manual typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectively ...

and the diocese's tribunal and appointing his priest councilors. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB), Ramirez sat on the International Policy Committee, the Committee on the Liturgy, and the Committee on Hispanic Affairs. He formerly chaired the Committee on the Church in Latin America and the

Catholic Campaign for Human Development The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the national anti-poverty and social justice program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) History CCHD was begun in 1969 as the "National Catholic Crusade Against Pove ...

. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee of the

Catholic Common Ground Initiative The Catholic Common Ground Initiative is an intra-ecclesial relations effort launched in 1996 by the National Pastoral Life Center. Its original goal was to dialogue with dissenting Catholics on a variety of unresolved issues that came about in th ...

. Ramirez was appointed as a member of the US State Department's Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad. He also served on the

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners ...

, traveling to China,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and other parts of Africa.

Retirement

On January 10, 2013, Ramírez's resignation as bishop of Las Cruces was accepted by Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, to be succeeded by Bishop

Oscar Cantú Oscar Cantú (born December 5, 1966) is a Mexican-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in California since 2018. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico fro ...

. Ramirez retired in Las Cruces. In 2016, Ramirez published his book ''Power from the Margins: The Emergence of the Latino in the Church and in Society.''

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Official SiteDiocese of Las Cruces

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramírez, Ricardo 1936 births Living people People from Bay City, Texas 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Members of Catholic orders and societies University of Detroit Mercy alumni University of St. Thomas (Texas) alumni Congregation of St. Basil American people of Mexican descent Catholics from Texas 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States