Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero will be beatified today, 35 years after he was murdered out of ‘hatred for his faith’

Across Latin America, murdered Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero has long been revered by many as ‘the voice of voiceless’ and an inspirational figure for all who struggle to uphold the gospel values of human dignity, justice and peace. He is now officially recognised as a martyr.

His beatification is to take place today in San Salvador, where, 35 years ago, on March 24, 1980, he was shot dead by hired assassins while celebrating Mass in the chapel of the hospital where he lived.

Romero had just read the gospel passage from John 12:23-23: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.” Moments later he was shot through the heart by a sniper.

His assassination took place during the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992), a conflict between the military-led government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ‘umbrella organisation’ of five left-wing guerrilla groups.

Murdered at a time when he had become an increasingly outspoken opponent of the El Salvador’s government and military leadership, making public each week a list of the victims of the civil war, Romero’s killing raised questions on whether it was politically- or faith-related.

He became a strong defender of the poor in the face of brutal repression, cruel persecution and terror

Following a lengthy procedure that encountered many difficulties, on account of opposition due to both Romero’s thought and pastoral action, as well as the situation of divergence that developed in relation to him, the Church finally reached her conclusion. Last February, Pope Francis approved a decree saying that Romero had been killed out of “hatred for his faith”, thus opening the door to his beatification.

Due consideration was given to the fact that Romero was murdered at the altar and that killing him was intended to strike at the Church. Research showed that beyond any probable political motivation, his death was definitely also due to hatred for a faith that, combined with charity, would not stay silent in the face of injustices that ruthlessly and cruelly afflicted the poor and their defenders. Moreover, his killing at the altar had a symbolic nature that resounded as a shocking warning for whoever was inclined to follow the same route.

Saint John Paul II used to say that Romero was killed “precisely at the most sacred moment, during the highest and most divine act” and that he was assassinated while exercising his sanctifying mission, “offering the Eucharist”. On a number of occasions St John Paul II repeated unequivocally: “Romero is ours, Romero is of the Church.”

As a very young priest in San Miguel, Romero asked the rich to give a fair salary to the peasant coffee cultivators. They accused him of communism. He told them that not only did they act against justice, but also that they themselves opened the doors to communism.

A man walking next to a wall with graffiti bearing the image of the late Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, in San Salvador.

Understanding clearly that being a pastor to all meant starting with the poor, Romero placed the poor at the centre of his pastoral concern. He sought the common good of all, starting however with the poor. He became a strong defender of the poor in the face of brutal repression, cruel persecution and terror.

After two years as archbishop of San Salvador, he counted 30 lost priests, either killed, expelled or forced to flee from death. The death squads killed scores of catechists from the base communities, and many faithful disappeared from these communities. The Church under his leadership became the main target of accusation and therefore the hardest hit. He resisted and accepted giving his life to defend his people.

The UN has proclaimed March 24, the day of Romero’s death, as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The Italian Episcopal Conference declared the same day as the Day for Prayer for Missionary Martyrs.

The Anglican Church has placed a statue of Romero in the facade of Westminster Abbey alongside those of Martin Luther King and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Caritas Internationalis adopted him as its patron.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family and postulator of the cause for the beatification of Romero, sees Romero’s rise to the altar as “an extraordinary gift for all of the Church at the beginning of this millennium to see”.

Romero’s martyrdom has given meaning and strength to many Salvadoran families who lost relatives and friends during the civil war, which saw the death of more than 75,000 citizens. His memory immediately became the memory of other victims, perhaps less illustrious, of the violence before and during the nation’s bloody conflict.

“Romero believed in his role as a bishop and primate of his country, and he considered himself responsible for the population, especially the poorest. Therefore, he took upon himself the bloodshed, pain and violence, denouncing their causes in his charismatic Sunday preaching that was listened to on the radio by the entire nation,” said Paglia.

Probably feeling a strength that was indispensable in the crisis that beset the country, Romero transformed himself into what Paglia described as a defensor civitatis, “following the tradition of the ancient Fathers of the Church, defending the persecuted clergy, protecting the poor, and affirming human rights”.

On March 24, 2010, 30 years after the assassination of Romero, Salvadorian President Mauricio Funes for the government’s role in the pastor’s killing.

Funes, elected a year before under the banner of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, the left coalition of former guerrillas, asked forgiveness in the name of the country and said: “I know that it is a relief to society, that it is a balm for a country that is tired of violence and that seeks the reconciliation of spirit.”