Padre Cícero (Crato, March 24, 1844 - Juazeiro do Norte, July 20, 1934) was born Cícero Romão Batista in Ceará, Brazil. He was the son of Joaquim Romão Batista e Joaquina Vicência Romana. When he was 6 years old, he started to study with professor Rufino de Alcântara Montezuma.

One important thing about his infancy is his pledge of chastity, made when he was twelve. This was influenced by him reading about the life of São Francisco de Sales. In 1860, he went to school in Cajazeiras, but because of the untimely death of his father, he had to return home to his mother and sisters in 1862. The death of his father, who was a small businessman in Crato, brought serious financial difficulties to his family.