CrucisSt. Oscar Romero
St. Óscar Romero was born on 15 August 1917 at Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador, and died on 24 March 1980 at San Salvador. Ordained a priest and later made a bishop, he was regarded as a cautious, bookish churchman when he was appointed archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. But the murder of a priest friend and the escalating violence against the poor of his country transformed him into a courageous and outspoken defender of human dignity amid a brutal repression on the eve of civil war.
Through his widely heard sermons he denounced injustice, killings, and torture, and pleaded for peace, becoming a voice for the voiceless. The day after publicly calling on soldiers to stop carrying out unjust killings, he was shot dead while celebrating Mass, falling near the altar as he offered the Eucharist. Honored as a martyr for the faith, he was canonized in 2018 by Pope Francis.
Selected quotes
“There is no true love of God that turns its eyes away from the suffering of a brother.”
“When we forget the brother before us, our prayers rise no higher than the ceiling.”
“The Church exists to serve the least, for in their faces the Lord still waits to be loved.”