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Leader of social movements in eastern São Paulo, Father Antonio Luiz Marchioni, known as Father Ticão, died on Friday night (1), at the age of 68, 48 of them serving as a priest.
He was pastor of the Parish of San Francisco de Assis, in Ermelino Matarazzo.
According to information from the Diocese of São Miguel Paulista, Father Ticão was admitted to the Santa Marcelina Hospital on Wednesday (30) with water in his lungs. On Friday he suffered cardiac arrest and could not resist.
A Paulista from Urupês (421 km from the capital), the priest arrived in São Paulo in the 1970s, after supporting buoy and teacher strikes in the Araraquara region (SP).
“In the countryside they called me a communist,” he once said in an interview with leaf.
His biography includes actions such as the invasion, together with the faithful, of the building of the Secretary of State for Housing, in the 1980s, to pressure then-Governor Franco Montoro (1983-87) to build housing developments.
He was also one of the leaders of the movement for the creation of the Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns Park and the Ermelino Matarazzo Hospital, both in the east, as well as leading demonstrations for the creation of health posts in the region.
Ticão participated in the mobilization for the installation of USP Leste and the Federal University of São Paulo on the east side. In the region, among his works are the Community Center for Better Age and the Center for the Recovery of Disabled Children.
Recently, it caused controversy after creating in the parish a course on the medical use of marijuana in partnership with the Federal University of São Paulo. He stated that it is not launched in Brazil due to the interest of large groups in the monopoly.
In 2019, he sparked the fury of conservative segments by inviting members of the Catholic group for the right to decide to a conference, designated as pro-abortion.
Mayor Bruno Covas (PSDB) mourned Ticão’s death saying that 2021 begins with sad news.
“A great defender of the poorest population in eastern São Paulo. A warrior in the fight to reduce social inequalities,” said Covas.
Federal deputy Sâmia Bomfim (PSOL) also lamented the death of the religious, whom she described as a fundamental leadership of the eastern zone.
“Always in defense of human rights, the oppressed and democratic freedoms, he will leave a longing and a legacy of generosity and will fight for social justice,” he said.
Information on the funeral and burial has not yet been released.
