Oscar Arnulfo Romero

"Archbishop Romero was assassinated by a sniper who was waiting in a red car parked out front of the chapel door of the Divina Providencia Hospital. The sniper made one shot and fled. According to a doctor who examined the archbishop the bullet pierced his heart." (New York Times – United States/ March 25, 1980.

Oscar Arnulfo Romero, started as a carpenter apprentice at age twelve. In 1931 he began studying at the San Miguel Seminary Minor. After six years, his studies were interrupted when he had to go work to help his family. He worked for three months in the Potosi gold mines for fifty cents a day.

In 1937, he began studying in the San Jose de la Montana Seminary Major in San Salvador, El Salvador. Seven months later, he was sent to Rome to continue studies in theology. On April 4, 1942, he became a priest in Rome and began his doctorate. He planned to write his thesis on mysticism or asceticism theology, but WWII forced him to return to El Salvador.

He became the parish priest of Anamoros. Following, he was a priest for 20 years in San Miguel. He promoted apostolic movements such as the Legion de Maria (Legion of Maria), the Caballeros de Cristo (Christs’ Gentlemen) and the Cursillos de Cristiandad. He was also very dedicated to social organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Caritas. He worked for the construction of the San Miguel Cathedral and supported the devotion of the Virgin of Peace.

In 1966 he was elected Secretary of the Episcopal Conference for El Salvador. During this time, he became more intensely involved in public life, while popular social movements experienced widespread growth which led to, a year later, the first general workers strike. His naming as assistant bishop to Monsignor Luis Chavez y Gonzalez in 1970 was not welcomed by the more liberal sectors; at the time, the ideas of Monsignor Romero were still very conservative. Additionally, his work as rector at the San Jose de la Montana Seminary Major was an economic failure that resulted in the closing of the seminary.

In 1974, he was named Bishop of the Santiago de Maria Diocese at a time politically characterized by the repression of peasant organizations. In June of 1975, the Tres Calles massacre by the National Guard occurred which saw the murder of five peasants. Monsignor Romero went to console the families of the victims and held a mass, but he didn’t publicly denounced the crime as several groups had requested, although he did send a harshly critical letter to President Molina.

The naming of Monsignor Romero as archbishop of San Salvador, on Febuary 23, 1977 was a heavy blow to the progressive sectors of El Salvador and a victory for the government and the factors in power that saw Romero as a mitigating element to halt all the compromises being made with the poor by the Archdiocese.

On March 12, 1977, jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, a friend of Romero who activeley helped establishes peasant organizations, was assassinated. The recently elected Archbishop Romero insisted that President Molina investigate the crime. Faced with the passivity of the government and silence and censorship from the press, Romero threatened to close the schools and remove the Catholic Church participation from all official functions.

Oscar Romero’s stance became internationally known and valued. In 1978, he was awarded an Honorable Cause Doctorate from Georgetown University (U.S.), in 1979, he received a nomination of the Nobel Peace Prize and 1980 he was awarded an Honorable Cause Doctorate from the University of Louvain (Belgium). During a trip to Europe he visited Pope John Paul II and expressed his concerns about the terrible situation facing El Salvador.

The Catholic Church calculates that between January and March 1980, more than 900 civilians were assassinated by security forces, armed units or paramilitary groups. The government closely worked with the terrorist organization ORDEN and the Death Squads.

Upon returning to Europe, Archbishop Romero sent a card to President Jimmy Carter stating his opposition to U.S. aid of the Salvadoran government in the repression of the people. In response, Carter asked that the Vatican pull in the reins on Archbishop Romero. Nonetheless, Romero’s efforts continued to be acknowledged in other countries and he received the Peace award from the Swedish Ecumenical Council.

Near the end of February, Hector Dada, a member of the Second Government Committee, informed the Monsignor that he knew of death threats against himself and the archbishop. Monsignor Lajos Kada, from the papal nuncio of Costa Rica, also warned Romero of threats. At the beginning of March, one of the broadcasting booths at La Voz Panamericana radio station, which broadcasted Romero’s Sunday homilies, was blown up. On March 22 and 23, those who had come to the Divina Providencia Hospital where Romero resided, received anonymous telephone calls with death threats. On March 24, 1980, Oscar A. Romero was assassinated by a sniper as he was giving mass in the chapel of the Divina Providencia Hospital.

The funerals, held in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador on March 30, 1980, turned into a pitched battle by security forces against thousands of Salvadorans gathered in the plaza of the cathedral, including members of the Bloque Popular Revolucionario. The result was more than 40 dead and 200 injured.

The assassination of Monsignor was followed by several other acts of extreme violence against the Church, because of its support to the Salvadoran people, such as the rape and assassination of three U.S. nuns and laywoman on December 2, 1980, and the assassination of six Jesuit priests by Death Squads in November of 1989.