Local priests from El Salvador express their pride at announcement of Romero's martyrdom

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY  — His Christianity, humanity, witness, actions as a man of God and pastor, preaching, truth-telling, protection of the poor, and his service as a voice for the unheard – these and many more characteristics made Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero unforgettable.

On Feb. 3, 2015, after decades of debate within the Catholic Church, Pope Francis formally recognized that Archbishop Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith.” The decree signed by the pope recognized as martyrdom the archbishop’s March 24, 1980 assassination in a San Salvador hospital chapel as he celebrated Mass.

In Utah the news has been received with joy and a sense of pride by many Salvadorians and by the community in general.

“I was 13 years old when Monsignor Romero was killed,” recalled Father Jose Barrera, parochial vicar of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. “In El Salvador we were living in a very confusing situation regarding safety. Frequently young men were recruited for the guerrilla war. I had to stop going to school for four years.”

During El Salvador’s civil war, priests were being murdered but, despite his family’s fears for his safety, Fr. Barrera entered the seminary in 1984 because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Christ, he said.

Fr. Barrera remembers vividly the morning of March 24, 1980, a Monday,  as a day of total sadness in which everyone in town was scared to leave their houses.

“Monsignor Romero gave us a lot of hope and we felt that someone was protecting our human rights,” said Fr. Barrera. “But that morning, after hearing the news [of the assassination], we were just very scared.”

 After being appointed Archbishop of San Salvador, Romero spoke ever more publicly in defense of the country’s poor and oppressed.

“He had shaken the pillars of a church that was a bit off in my country,” Fr. Barrera said. “He awakened the interest to serve the underserved, who had no fault in the causes that began the civil war. This conflict awakened in many families interest in praying and for trusting in God. Only God could help us and protect us from such harsh reality.”

He added that Archbishop Romero also awakened the desire in many young people to put their feet in the same place that Christ did.

“The fear and cowardice was changed to bravery, after his example of passionate speaking. We were very surprised when we heard his words that he was not afraid to die for the Gospel,” said Fr. Barrera.

Father Marco Tulio Lopez, pastor of Saint Andrew Parish, also recalls living in El Salvador while Archbishop Romero was alive, and after his assassination.

“Many talk about Archbishop Romero as a social figure, but some don’t know about his spirituality: According to testimonies, he was a man of prayer, spiritual direction, strength in his Christianity. His charity and solidarity with the poor were not just acts of social assistance, they were an expression of his love for God and for the people,” Fr. Lopez said.

Father Lopez said that as a priest, bishop and archbishop, Romero’s life, work and teachings challenged all priests.

“He wasn’t an employee-priest, he wasn’t an inaccessible bishop to the poor; facing the social, moral, economic and political reality, he was never indifferent. He never sought to be a protagonist, but still he was misunderstood.  Until recently in many dioceses of El Salvador, it was prohibited to talk about him. In him what Jesus said ‘a prophet  in his country is not recognized’ was true, but of course by the poor and the underserved he was always recognized and loved; for them he was always a saint,” Fr. Lopez said.

As Archbishop Romero’s cause for martyrdom progressed, Pope Benedict XVI told reporters in 2007 that the archbishop was “certainly a great witness of the faith” who “merits beatification, I do not doubt.” But, he said, some groups had complicated the sainthood cause by trying to portray the archbishop as a political figure.

Archbishop Romero frequently said that “we must all be willing to die for our faith even if the Lord does not grant us this honor.” 

While the Catholic Church generally requires that a miracle be attributed to the intercession of a person before they are considered for beatification, an official decree of martyrdom removes this requirement. However, a miracle attributed to Archbishop Romero’s intercession would still be required for his canonization as a saint.

The news that Archbishop Romero officially had been declared a martyr “filled me with joy, because this reinforces in me that our trust in God and the decision of following Christ through our priesthood were a legitimate call in the middle of the storm of the civil war,” said Father Barrera. “I know that God hears our prayers.”