Saint Óscar Romero

Saint Óscar Romero was formally declared a martyr by Pope Francis in February 2015 and was canonized a saint on October 14, 2018, alongside Pope Paul VI. His feast day is March 24.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was born in Ciudad Barrios, to Santos and his wife Guadalupe de Jésus Galdámez, on August 15, 1917. Trained by his father to be a carpenter, Óscar entered divinity school at age 13 and then studied theology at San Salvador’s seminary and later in Rome, where he was ordained to the priesthood.

He returned home, becoming a parish priest and later the rector of a seminary. He was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, during a period of widespread political violence, disappearances and human rights violations. At first, Archbishop Romero was not considered an outspoken advocate for people who were poor and oppressed, but after Father Rutilio Grande, a friend, was killed because of his support for those who were being oppressed, the archbishop became more vocal.

He delivered weekly radio homilies, denouncing the human rights violations and urging others to also come to the defense of the poor, who were often victims of the violence.

He said, “We might be left without a radio station: God’s best microphone is Christ, and Christ’s best microphone is the Church, and the Church is all of you. Let each one of you, in your own job, in your own vocation—nun, married person, bishop, priest, high school or university student, day laborer, wage earner, market woman—one in your own place … live the faith intensely and feel that in your surroundings you are a true microphone of God our Lord.”

He became known as the “bishop of the poor,” and in 1979, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by several members of Congress and the British Parliament. However, his outspokenness led to many death threats against him, and in 1980, he was gunned down while celebrating Mass. His funeral, celebrated in the plaza outside the cathedral, was attended by an estimated 250,000 people.

In 2015, 35 years after Romero’s death, Pope Francis declared Romero a martyr. He was beatified that same year. In March 2018, a terminally ill Salvadoran woman was cured after her husband prayed for Romero's intercession. Pope Francis approved the miracle, which cleared the path for Romero’s canonization.