Franciscan martyr Augusto Ramírez Monasterio beatified in Guatemala

At his Beatification Mass in Antigua, Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega recalls Franciscan Fr. Augusto Rafael Ramírez Monasterio's defense of the seal of confession, and prays that his example will inspire Guatemalan families to live in humility and solidarity.

Vatican News

Franciscan Fr. Augusto Rafael Ramírez Monasterio was beatified in Antigua, Guatemala, on Saturday, November 7, 43 years to the day after he was killed in hatred of the faith during the country’s civil war.

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, Archbishop of Guadalajara, presided at the Mass on behalf of Pope Leo XIV.

In his homily, the Cardinal prayed that the new Blessed would sustain priests throughout the world in their daily fidelity to the promises they made at ordination.

He noted that Friar Augusto had proclaimed the same Gospel passage heard at the Mass on the day of his ordination. Its words, “Do not be afraid,” would come to sum up his life.

Defending the seal of confession

In June 1983, Fr. Augusto heard the confession of a farmworker who had joined the armed guerrillas and was seeking government amnesty. The friar accompanied him to the police.

Both men were taken to the military base in Chimaltenango, where they were questioned and beaten. The priest was singled out in an effort to make him reveal what he had heard in confession.

The Cardinal pointed to Fr. Augusto’s official portrait, in which his hands are tucked into the sleeves of his habit. Days before the photograph was taken, the friar had been tortured and suspended by iron handcuffs that left his hands bruised and burned.

For Fr. Augusto, the Cardinal said, defending the sacramental seal meant “defending the dignity of every person and ensuring that sinners could always find a safe refuge in which to rebuild their lives.”

Standing with those who suffer

Cardinal Robles Ortega described Guatemala as “a beautiful and sorrowful land of martyrs.” He recalled that Fr. Augusto returned to his homeland after ministering in Spain and devoted himself to pastoral work and to defending the poorest.

The Cardinal urged priests to follow his example and be shepherds with “the smell of the sheep,” able to stand alongside those who are persecuted or marginalized and those who seek the comfort of faith.

He concluded with words from a homily Fr. Augusto delivered around 1982, in which the friar described the Eucharist as “the sacramental banquet in which God draws near to us and we share in his life.”