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Rosario Livatino was known as the “judge boy” because of his youthful appearance. Before becoming a judge in the Sicilian city of Agrigento, he worked as a deputy prosecutor, according to Corriera della Sera, and led many investigations against the mafia.
In the end, the gangster group La Stidda (“The Star”) ordered him assassinated – 37 years old, The Guardian reports. Stidda, strong in strongholds in southern Sicily, was a competitor to the more powerful and well-known mafia organization Cosa Nostra.
On September 21, 1990, Livatino was driving on a highway when he was hit by a car and forced to stop. He tried to flee on foot through a field, but the four assassins caught up with him and shot him dead.
Livatino was a devout believer and went to church regularly. During the investigation, the prosecutors pointed out that he had written a mysterious abbreviation in all his newspapers, std, which means “sub tutela dei” (in the hands of God). The then Pope John Paul II called Livatino “a martyr for justice and faith.”
Now the Vatican, headed by the current Pope Francis, has started the process of beatification of Livatino. The Pope calls the dead judge “an example, not only for the judiciary, but for all those who work in the judiciary, for the consistency of their faith, their commitment to work and the relevance of their reflections.”
The ceremony may take place in Agrigento this spring.
Read more:
More than 400 people are being indicted in a huge mafia trial in Italy
Mayor of Rome: The mafia planned to assassinate me