Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri was born on 16 July 1947 in Guatemala City, the eldest of four children of Ernesto Ramazzini and Delia Imeri, who had emigrated from Lombardy, Italy. He studied philosophy and theology at the Salesian Theological Institute and completed his priestly formation in Mérida, Mexico. He was ordained a priest on 27 June 1971 in the Cathedral of Guatemala by Archbishop Mario Casariego. Between 1976 and 1980 he studied canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, earning a doctorate, and on his return served as formator, professor and, from 1983 to 1986, Rector of La Asunción National Major Seminary.
On 15 December 1988 John Paul II appointed him Bishop of San Marcos, and the Pope personally consecrated him a bishop in Saint Peter's Basilica on 6 January 1989. His episcopal motto is '¡Ay de mí si no evangelizo!' — 'Woe to me if I do not evangelize!' In San Marcos he founded the pastoral care of the land (pastoral de la tierra) and a house for migrants, with particular protection for unaccompanied minors. He was Secretary General of the Guatemalan Episcopal Conference from 1990 and its President from 2006 to 2008, played a prominent role in promoting peace during the civil war (1960-1996), served on the National Reconciliation Commission, and chaired the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America (2001-2005).
He received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award in 2011. On 14 May 2012 Benedict XVI transferred him to the Diocese of Huehuetenango, on the border with Chiapas, Mexico, where he took possession on 14 July 2012 and has continued his advocacy for indigenous communities, migrants and the environment. Pope Francis created him a cardinal in the consistory of 5 October 2019, with the titular church of San Giovanni Evangelista a Spinaceto. He is a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Consequential Quotes
Sometimes we have difficulty with Catholics who don’t understand that there is a relationship between social commitments and faith. This is an issue above all with middle and upper class Catholics. They don’t understand that to be Christian means to follow the path of Jesus Christ.
We were a strong voice of opposition, and I personally have never agreed with the idea that extractive industries could lift us out of poverty.
I have hope. I am a man of hope!
The government can't even solve our Guatemalan problems, how are they going to help the people coming from outside? How are we going to employ these people?
God has plans for the lives of everyone. If I try to do what God asks of me, then whatever happens, happens.
I believe my life is in God's hands; I believe strongly in providence. I am thankful to be doing the things I'm doing.
Major Works & Initiatives
Pastoral de la Tierra and Casa del Migrante, San Marcos
In the Diocese of San Marcos he founded the pastoral care of the land, defending agricultural resources and the dignity of rural workers, and a house of the migrant (casa del migrante) protecting migrants in transit, especially unaccompanied minors.
Peace and reconciliation work during the civil war
Served as a delegate surveying the communities of the civil population in resistance in northern Quiché (1990-1994) and in the religious sector of the National Reconciliation Commission (1991-1996) that prepared the national dialogue ending Guatemala's civil war.
Testimony before the US House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Testified before the US House International Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on trade and human rights, arguing that trade policies such as CAFTA compelled Guatemalans to migrate and describing undocumented immigrants as 'entrepreneurs without assets, pursuing the American dream'.
Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award
Received the award honouring work for peace and justice, recognising his defence of the poor and indigenous peoples and his opposition to environmentally destructive mining; previous recipients include Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Desmond Tutu.
Controversies
Opposition to the Marlin mine and the clash with President Berger (2005)
As Bishop of San Marcos, Ramazzini led Church opposition to the Canadian-owned Marlin gold mine, arguing that foreign interests profited from Guatemala's resources while bringing little benefit to poor and indigenous residents; the government of President Óscar Berger maintained the mine was environmentally safe and would bring jobs and tax revenue, and a mining company spokesman said he was 'baffled' by the Church's opposition. After a second anti-mine demonstration in which a protester was killed in a confrontation with police, Berger publicly accused Ramazzini of organising it. Ramazzini said he did not advocate violence and had nothing to do with that incident, and Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruño rebuked the president's comments. Ramazzini received a death threat shortly afterwards and was given round-the-clock government bodyguards.
Death threats over mining and human-rights advocacy (2008)
In April 2008, Catholic News Service reported that a masked man pressed a gun into the side of a Franciscan sister working in the Diocese of San Marcos and told her to warn 'that good-for-nothing bishop — Ramazzini — that his days are numbered and that he should stop getting involved in things that are none of his business'. Ramazzini, an outspoken critic of Goldcorp's mining practices and of drug traffickers, declined to speculate on who issued the threat, saying: 'This could have come from any number of people who may not be happy with me.' Goldcorp had previously lodged a formal complaint claiming that an independent environmental study presented by Ramazzini contained 'false results'; invited by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre to respond to the 2008 threat report, Goldcorp declined. Trade union federations and Church bodies called on the Guatemalan government to guarantee his safety, and he received letters of support from the Holy See and the US bishops.
Criticism of the 'safe third country' migration agreement (2019)
In 2019 Ramazzini publicly criticised the US-Guatemalan 'safe third country' agreement, under which asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador could be returned to Guatemala. He questioned how a government unable to solve Guatemala's own problems could employ, feed or provide medical services to people arriving from outside, and described an influx of deportees as a test of what kind of Christians Guatemalans are. Guatemalan and US officials defended the agreement, which faced legal challenges in both countries.
Sources
- Holy See Press Office — biography
- Wikipedia
- Berkley Center, Georgetown University — A Discussion with Álvaro Ramazzini (Part 1), 29 September 2015
- National Catholic Reporter — Cardinal-designate has defended indigenous people, migrants for decades, 30 September 2019
- The Catholic Messenger — Guatemalan bishop to receive Pacem in Terris award, 10 August 2011
- Washington Post via World-Wide Religious News — Protests from Guatemala's pulpits (Marlin mine dispute)
- Catholic News Service via Mines and Communities — Bishop speaks against Canadian mining firm, death threat follows, April 2008
- CatholicPhilly (CNS) — Latin American bishops testify in D.C. against extractive industries, March 2015