Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri (born July 16, 1947) is a

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

n prelate of 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 ...

who has been the Bishop of Huehuetenango since 2012. He was the Bishop of San Marcos from 1988 to 2012. Pope Francis raised him to the rank of

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 ...

on 5 October 2019.

Biography

Ramazzini was born in

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

, and he was ordained to the presbyterate on June 27, 1971, for service to the Archdiocese of Guatemala. He earned a Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.) at the Pontifical Gregorian University at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and Rector of the Major Seminary of Guatemala and Pastor of one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Guatemala. On December 15, 1988,

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 ...

appointed then-Father Ramazzini as the Bishop of San Marcos. He was consecrated by the Pope on January 6, 1989. The principal co-consecrators were Archbishops Edward Idris Cassidy and José Tomás Sánchez. As a priest and bishop Ramazzini has been involved in social justice issues, especially in the area of protecting the rights of indigenous people. He has fought against multinational corporations who come to Guatemala for its mineral wealth while destroying the countryside. Bishop Ramazzini has empowered the poor and marginalized and fostered civil courage to fight against the injustice they experience. He has received many death threats because of his work, and has received official letters of support from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and 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 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

. In 2005 Ramazzini received the Konrad Lorenz Award. The same year he testified before the International Relations Sub-committee on the Western Hemisphere of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. He was elected as the President of the Episcopal Conference of Guatemala in 2006. In 2011, he received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award, in honor of his social justice work. Ramazzini has held many positions in the Episcopal Conference of Guatemala and chaired the Commission for Social Communications and the Commission for Prison Ministry. Ramazzini participated in the CELAM Assembly in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007, and before that, at the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops in 1997. On 14 May 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named Ramazzini Bishop of Huehuetenango as he accepted the resignation offered by Bishop Rodolfo Francisco Bobadilla Mata, C.M. On 5 October 2019, Pope Francis made him Cardinal Priest of San Giovanni Evangelista a Spinaceto. He was made a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life on 21 February 2020 and of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America on 20 April 2020. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramazzini Imeri, Alvaro Leonel 1947 births Living people Guatemalan people of Italian descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Guatemala 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Guatemala Guatemalan cardinals People from Guatemala City Roman Catholic activists Cardinals created by Pope Francis Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic bishops of San Marcos Roman Catholic bishops of Huehuetenango

Biography

See also

References

External links