Did Father Cicero suffer from rheumatism?

Abstract

Father Cicero Romao Batista is probably the most famous Ceará character of all time. An important protagonist of the Cariri region, situated in the south of Ceara State, in the late nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth century, Father Cicero had great political and religious activity, as well as other less well-known achievements, for instance, his ecological teachings that led him to be awarded the title of “Patron of Forests”, besides an enormous effort and personal sacrifice for the improvement of the conditions of human life. Inspired by reading his biography, we find that the “Padim Ciço” could have inflammatory spondyloarthropathy. In this article, we present the plausibility of this diagnostic hypothesis, seeking to emphasize that an attentive ear and clinical observation, albeit indirectly and without the privilege of a personal contact with the patient, are unparalleled tools for bringing forth a diagnosis.