Today is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Oscar A. Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, in El Salvador. He was murdered while celebrating Mass at a cancer hospital where he lived. Finishing the homily, a group of military death squad shot Romero.
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was the fourth archbishop of San Salvador, (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980). It is noted that during his time as the archbishop he had a conversion in which the Lord gave him the grace to be closer to his people and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ which sets people free from those things which shackle us: the disordered desires of money, power, and fame. Also, the murders of 12 Catholic priests during his three years as archbishop of San Salvador. Romero denounced injustice and violations of human rights in El Salvador and supported public demonstrations for of the people for freedom. He was the voice of the Salvadoran people when all other voices were killed off or otherwise silenced.
In 1997, Archbishops Arturo Rivera and then Fernando Sáenz Lacalle (a priest of Opus Dei) opened and fostered the cause for canonization for Romero, and Pope John Paul II gave him the title of Servant of God. The process continues, even surpassing certain hurdles.
See “Remembering Archbishop Oscar Romero” and watch a Rome Reports video on the Romero cause.