Blessed Tullio Maruzzo

Marcello "Tullio" Rappo Maruzzo OFM (23 July 1929 – 1 July 1981) was an Italian Catholic priest and missionary dedicated to catechesis and evangelization among the local people in Guatemala. Maruzzo was a member of the Order of Friars Minor. Murdered in 1981 alongside Luis Navarro, Maruzzo is venerated by Catholics and his beatification received approval from Pope Francis and was celebrated in Izabal, Guatemala on 27 October 2018. Marcello Maruzzo was born near Vicenza, Italy in 1929 to the poor peasants Angelo Maruzzo and Augusta Rappo, one of eight children. His twin sibling was Daniele (later Fra Lucio). His mother died on 21 September 1940. Maruzzo and his twin brother Daniele 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. Maruzzo studied for the priesthood in Chiampo before his first vesting in the habit in 1945 and his profession in 1951. His brother left Italy to be a missionary in Central America in December 1956. Maruzzo followed his brother leaving Italy for Guatemala in 1960. He first settled in Puerto Barrios on 16 December 1960, learning Spanish so he could communicate with the local communities. 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 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. Maruzzo received warnings, threats, and intimidation aimed at stopping his work. He was accused of being a "communist priest". His superiors feared that the intimidation would escalate, so they transferred Maruzzo elsewhere, but the threats continued. It was during his final placement that he met and worked alongside Luis Navarro, who was a catechist.