Ricardo Ramirez

Ricardo Ramírez, C.S.B. (born September 12, 1936) is an American Catholic prelate who served as the first bishop of Las Cruces in New Mexico from 1982 to 2013. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas from 1981 to 1982. He is a member of the Congregation of St. Basil (Basilians).

Biography

Early life Ricardo Ramírez was born on September 12, 1936, in Bay City, Texas, as the second of the two children of Natividad and Maria (née Espinosa) Ramírez. Up to the sixth grade, he attended a segregated school for Mexican-American students. At that time, he started working after school to help the family finances. In 1942, Ramirez entered Jefferson Davis Grammar school in Bay City and Bay City High School in 1951, graduating in 1955. Ramírez then studied at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1959.

On September 12, 1960, Ramirez joined the Basilians. He spent his first six months at a so-called boot camp in Michigan, then taught English and history in schools in Los Angeles and Houston. In 1963, Ramirez entered St. Basil's Seminary in Toronto, Ontario. In 1965, he finished his studies at the Conciliar Seminary of Mexico in Mexico City. Ramirez retired in Las Cruces.

In 2016, Ramirez published his book Power from the Margins: The Emergence of the Latino in the Church and in Society.