Marcello Maruzzo
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Marcello Maruzzo | |
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File:Tullio maruzzo.jpg | |
Church | Roman Catholic Church |
Orders | |
Ordination | 21 June 1953 by Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli |
Rank | Priest |
Personal details | |
Born | Marcello Rappo Maruzzo 23 July 1929 Lapio di Arcugnano, Vicenza, Kingdom of Italy |
Died | 1 July 1981 Quiriguá, Los Amates, Izabal, Guatemala | (aged 51)
Nationality | Italian |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Parents | Angelo Maruzzo and Augusta Rappo |
Sainthood | |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Title as Saint | Venerable |
Attributes |
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Layman; Martyr | |
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Born | Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro 21 June 1950 Quiriguá, Los Amates, Izabal, Guatemala |
Died | 1 July 1981 Quiriguá, Los Amates, Izabal, Guatemala | (aged 31)
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Marcello Maruzzo (23 July 1929 – 1 July 1981) – in religious Tullio – and Luis Navarro (21 June 1950 – 1 July 1981) were Italian and Guatemalan people. Maruzzo was a professed priest from the Order of Friars Minor and Navarro was part of the Secular Franciscan Order.[1] The two were missionaries in Guatemala dedicated to catechesis and evangelization among the local people.[2][3]
Their beatification received approval from Pope Francis and it shall be celebrated in Izabal on 27 October 2018.
Life
Maruzzo
Marcello Maruzzo was born in Vicenza in 1929 as one of eight children to the poor peasants Angelo Maruzzo and Augusta Rappo; his twin sibling was Daniele (later Fra Lucio).[3] His mother died on 21 September 1940.
Maruzzo and his twin brother both joined the Order of Friars Minor in 1940 (first doing their novitiate) and both received their ordination to the priesthood from Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli - the future Pope John XXIII - on 21 June 1953. He studied for the priesthood in Chiampo before his first vesting in the habit in 1945 and his profession in 1951.[3][1] His brother departed for the missions in Central America in December 1956 which inspired him to do the same thing. Maruzzo left his home for the missions in Guatemala in 1960 where he first settled in Puerto Barrios on 16 December learning about the plight of the poor and learning Spanish to communicate with the locals.[2] He tended to their needs and celebrated Mass for them but also moved from village to village where he worked with the local Caritas distributing the necessities to the poor while defending the rights of the peasants. He evangelized the message of the Gospel to them and was known for being a friend to the poor and the homeless.
But Maruzzo received warnings, threats and was intimidated in stopping his work and was even accused once of being a "communist priest". His superiors feared that the intimidations would escalate so transferred Maruzzo elsewhere. But this did not stop the threats from continuing. It was on his final placement that he met and worked alongside Luis Navarro who was a catechist.
He and Navarro were at a catechetical meeting when the pair were ambushed and shot dead at 10:40 pm.
Navarro
Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro was born on 21st June 1950 and served as a catechist in Guatemala his birthplace. He met Marcello Maruzzo at some stage and the two collaborated in evangelizing and catechizing to the poor and peasants in the Izabal Department. He became a member of the Secular Franciscan Order and remained unmarried in his life.[2]
He and Maruzzo were attending a catechetical meeting one evening when the pair was ambushed and shot dead at 10:30 pm. Navarro knew of the threats directed against Maruzzo but still worked with him despite knowing that he too could be targeted.[1]
Beatification
The beatification process commenced under Pope Benedict XVI. on 10 November 2005. After that, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared the "nihil obstat" (no objections to the cause) and titled as Servants of God. The investigation was conducted by the Izabal apostolic vicars under Gabriel Peñate Rodríguez bishop from its inauguration on 31 January 2006 until its closure later on 15 July 2008. Their documents of investigation went to the C.C.S. in Rome who validated the diocesan phase of investigation in a decree issued on 12 February 2010. The C.C.S. received the Positio dossier from the postulation later in 2014.
The theologians advising the congregation issued their approval to the argument that the two were killed in hatred of the faith in their meeting held on 31 May 2016 while the members of the C.C.S. also confirmed this on 26 September 2017. Pope Francis confirmed their beatification in a decree promulgated on 9 October 2017 in an audience with the congregation's prefect.[4]
The beatification shall be held in Guatemala in Izabal on 27 October 2018.
The current postulator for this cause is the Franciscan priest Giovangiuseppe Califano.
References
- ^ a b c "Per conoscere P. Marcello Maruzzo (OFM) e Obdulio Navarro (OFS), Martiri Francescani in Guatemala". Calendario Francescano Secolare. July 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "Servants of God Tullio (Maruzzo) and Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "Padre Tullio Marcello Maruzzo" (PDF). Diocese of Vicenza. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Pope recognizes martyrdom of Franciscans killed in Guatemala". Crux. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
External links
- Articles to be split from February 2018
- Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from February 2018
- 1929 births
- 1950 births
- 1981 deaths
- 20th-century Guatemalan people
- 20th-century Italian people
- 20th-century Roman Catholics
- 20th-century venerated Christians
- Beatifications by Pope Francis
- Deaths by firearm in Guatemala
- Guatemalan people
- Guatemalan Roman Catholics
- Italian expatriates in Guatemala
- Italian people murdered abroad
- Italian Roman Catholic missionaries
- Murdered Roman Catholic priests
- People from Izabal Department
- People from Vicenza
- People murdered in Guatemala
- Roman Catholic missionaries in Guatemala
- Secular Franciscans
- Venerated Catholics