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Modern · Saint
St Óscar Romero
Archbishop of San Salvador
MartyrModern WitnessConfessor
1917 – 1980
1942
Ordained
1970
Consecrated Bishop
San Salvador
Diocese
El Salvador
Country
The Life
Óscar Arnulfo Romero was ordained a priest in Rome in 1942 and rose through the Salvadoran hierarchy, becoming Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. Initially seen as a cautious conservative, he was transformed by the murder of his friend Fr Rutilio Grande into an outspoken defender of the poor.
Amid El Salvador's spiral toward civil war, he denounced government repression and human-rights abuses. He was assassinated at the altar while celebrating Mass on 24 March 1980, recognized as a martyr, and canonized by Pope Francis in 2018.
Notable Actions
- Appointed Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977; became a fearless advocate for the poor
- Used his weekly radio homilies to document and denounce killings and disappearances
- Publicly appealed to soldiers to stop carrying out repression, in the name of God's law
- Assassinated while elevating the chalice at Mass on 24 March 1980
- Canonized as a martyr by Pope Francis on 14 October 2018
If they kill me, I shall rise again in the Salvadoran people.
Interview, shortly before his death (March 1980)Portrait: Arzobispado de San Salvador; Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum / Wikimedia Commons