Saint Oscar Romero

I was born in 1917 in El Salvador. I studied theology and in 1942 I was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome. Back in my country I formed an association and assisted in building a cathedral. In 1966, I was appointed Secretary of El Salvador's Bishop's Conference. In 1975 I was made a Bishop and in 1977 Archbishop. During the civil conflict between right-wing groups and leftist guerrillas in my country, I became a vocal critic of their violent activities. I opposed the regime of our dictator, but also that of the junta which replaced him later. Many threats were made at my address, but I declared my commitment to sacrifice my life for the “redemption and resurrection” of El Salvador. In 1979 I was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace by a number of U.S. congressmen and 118 members of the British Parliament. My spiritual ideals were fully Christian, like love for the Church, finding God in others and self-offering to Jesus Christ.  I was shot to death on 24 March, 1980, as I was celebrating Mass.