Monseñor Romero
“I will rise up in the Salvadoran people”
2016 Romero Week Reflection Packet
Table of Contents
Greetings from Claudia Martínez, Grassroots Coordinator .................................................... 1
Get to know El Salvador´s History .................................................................................................... 2
Get to know Monseñor Romero ........................................................................................................ 4
Monseñor Romero’s Homily ............................................................................................................... 7
The Beatification ................................................................................................................................... 11
Apostolic Letter Authorizing the Beatification of Archbishop Romero ........................... 15
Romero Activity and Quotes for Reflection ................................................................................ 16
Poem “A Future Not our Own” ......................................................................................................... 18
Become a SHARE Supporter ............................................................................................................. 19
Closing letter from Executive Director Jose Artiga .................................................................. 21
Credits:
www.riniarts.org
Greetings from Claudia Martínez, Grassroots Coordinator
Romero Justice Week 2016
“I will rise up in the Salvadoran people”
Archbishop Oscar Romero
Dear friends and fellow Romero followers,
After the 2015 beatification of El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romero, our leader who gave his life to
defend the poor and the oppressed, we continue working with joy to construct peace, supported by
the force of love and faith that for many years has buoyed the pueblo of El Salvador.
Every year we commemorate his death and recall his words and message. In this packet SHARE offers
ideas and materials for commemoration and reflection on Oscar Romero and his life. We hope that you
will host a gathering in honor of this 36th anniversary of his martyrdom.
As SHARE enters its 35th years of accompanying El Salvador’s communities, we know that community
organizing is key to development. We continue to support youth leadership development, knowledge
of human and women's rights, and movements toward justice. As Romero said, “We know that every
effort to improve society, especially when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God
blesses; that God wants; that God demands of us.”
On behalf of SHARE and the Salvadoran people, we accompany together, gracias! Thank you so very
much for your efforts! If you have any questions or would like accompaniment in planning your
gathering, please contact me at [email protected]. Also, please distribute the
packet as widely as possible to all those you think may be interested in learning about Romero.
Thank you for your commitment to the people of El Salvador!
In solidarity,
Claudia Martinez
Grassroots Program Coordinator
SHARE El Salvador
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Get to know El Salvador´s History
Originally populated by the Pipil and Lenca Indians, El Salvador was
colonized by the Spanish over five hundred years ago. In the centuries
that followed, a small land-owning elite held control of the country
while the large majority of peasants, or campesinos, worked in
deplorable conditions to harvest the major national crops of indigo,
coffee and sugarcane. In 1932, a group of indigenous peasants revolted
in a quest to gain the right to own land and were brutally massacred by
the new military-run government, which almost completely wiped out
indigenous culture. In the 1970s, rural peasants, labor unions, teachers,
and student groups began to organize once again to demand their rights through regime after regime
of military governments.
The violent oppression that followed led to a twelve-year civil war from 1980-1992 between the
FMLN guerrilla forces and the Salvadoran military, which the U.S. supported with an average of a
million dollars a day over the course of the war. During the civil war, over 75,000 Salvadorans lost
their lives. After the signing of the peace accords in 1992, the FMLN was transformed into a political
party and the former security forces were dissolved, and a new National Civilian Police force was
created. Thousands of refugees returned to their homes or to newly populated communities to begin
to rebuild their lives. For twenty years, the far right-wing party ARENA ran the country, creating neoliberal policies that negatively impacted the majority of the Salvadoran population. Immigration to the
United States increased with an estimated three million Salvadorans living in the United States to date;
in 1990 there were only half a million.
Gang violence also increased as large numbers of Salvadoran
immigrants who had fled during the war joined the Los Angeles
gangs, the 18th Street and MS-13. With change in U.S. deportation
law, many gang members were deported back to post-war El
Salvador where they spread their gangs and territories. Now they
have established a whole network involved in violent and
criminal activity. Government response to the gang violence was
a harsh crackdown on Salvadoran youth, especially those living in
poor urban communities. A gang truce was signed in early 2012,
dropping the levels of violence but then dissolved in early 2014.
In August of 2014, the gangs reinstated the second phase of the gang truce, promising to reduce
threats and violence. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) signed with the United
States in 2005 opened the door for U.S. companies to flood the Salvadoran market with less expensive
goods, increasing the agricultural crisis and deepening rural poverty. Intense environmental
degradation began with the deforestation of El Salvador under Spanish rule and continues today,
particularly through contamination by foreign transnationals, including mining companies.
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Community resistance to mining has been met with violence, particularly in the rural department of
Cabañas. International mining company Pacific Rim (now Oceana Gold) has opened a $301 million
lawsuit against the Salvadoran government for not granting them permits to begin gold extraction.
Working for women’s rights and empowerment also continues to be a challenge. The Salvadoran
women’s movement won a major victory on November 25, 2010 with the unanimous passage of the
Law for a Life Free of Violence Against Women. Despite many challenges, Salvadorans “siguen
adelante” or continue forward with great dedication and hope.
In 2009, Mauricio Funes took office to become the first leftist
president of El Salvador. The peaceful transition of power in 2009
was huge for Salvadoran society, as one of the contributing factors to
the war was that people could not create change through elections
due to blatant fraud. Since the 1992 Peace Accords, elections have
only become increasingly transparent and democratic, through
numerous reforms, and in part with presence from national and
international observers. This was seen as a great achievement for the
Salvadoran people, but the struggle for justice continues on, as not
everything can be changed with a new party in office. Funes
implemented a number of social reforms, designed to combat
inequality. Such programs include abolishing public healthcare fees,
the Ciudad Mujer program (providing services to women), and distributing property titles to many
families. Again in 2014, the left won the presidency after a run-off election with former guerrilla
commander Salvador Sánchez Cerén as president. He attributes his search for social justice and
improving communities to his humble roots. He was a primary school teacher for ten years. During the
war, he was appointed to the position of a Commander in the FMLN. Since the Peace Accords, he has
worked the formal political sphere, and was sworn in as Vice-President in 2009. Sánchez Cerén has
stated that the “three pillars” of his administration are employment, security, and education.
Among his proposals for increasing employment include sponsoring a public development bank and
the promotion of important industries. He also proposes to increase funding for police technologies, as
well as promote anti-drug abuse campaigns, and training community peace officers. He has expressed
his desire for alternative development models (such as those seen in left-wing governments in South
America). His Vice-President is Oscar Ortiz, the exceedingly popular former mayor of Santa Tecla. The
spirits of civil war martyrs Oscar Romero, the four churchwomen, and Elba, Selina and the UCA Jesuits
and countless others live on through the Salvadoran people as they struggle for a more just world.
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Get to know Monseñor Romero
Oscar Romero: Bishop of the Poor
Post by Renny Golden / uscatholic.org, post from 2009
http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor
In 1980, in the midst of a U.S. funded war the UN Truth Commission called genocidal, the soon-to-beassassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero promised history that life, not death, would have the last
word. “I do not believe in death without resurrection,” he said. “If they kill me, I will be resurrected in
the Salvadoran people.”
On each anniversary of his death, the people will march through the streets carrying that promise
printed on thousands of banners. Mothers will make pupusas (thick tortillas with beans) at 5 a.m.,
pack them, and prepare the children for a two-to-four hour ride or walk to the city to remember the
gentle man they called Monseñor.
Oscar Romero gave his last homily on March 24. Moments before a sharpshooter felled him, reflecting
on scripture, he said, “One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of
life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives.” The homily,
however, that sealed his fate took place the day before when he took the terrifying step of publicly
confronting the military.
Romero begged for international intervention. He was alone. The people were alone. In 1980 the war
claimed the lives of 3,000 per month, with cadavers clogging the streams, and tortured bodies thrown
in garbage dumps and the streets of the capitol weekly. With one exception, all the Salvadoran bishops
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turned their backs on him, going so far as to send a secret document to Rome reporting him, accusing
him of being “politicized” and of seeking popularity.
Unlike them, Romero had refused to ever attend a government function until the repression of the
people was stopped. He kept that promise winning him the enmity of the government and military,
and an astonishing love of the poor majority.
Romero was a surprise in history. The poor never expected him to take their side and the elites of
church and state felt betrayed. He was a compromise candidate elected to head the bishop's
episcopacy by conservative fellow bishops. He was predictable, an orthodox, pious bookworm who
was known to criticize the progressive liberation theology clergy so aligned with the impoverished
farmers seeking land reform. But an event would take place within three weeks of his election that
would transform the ascetic and timid Romero.
The new archbishop's first priest, Rutilio Grande, was ambushed and killed along with two
parishioners. Grande was a target because he defended the peasant's rights to organize farm
cooperatives. He said that the dogs of the big landowners ate better food than the campesino children
whose fathers worked their fields.
The night Romero drove out of the capitol to Paisnal to view Grande's body and the old man and seven
year old who were killed with him, marked his change. In a packed country church Romero
encountered the silent endurance of peasants who were facing rising terror. Their eyes asked the
question only he could answer: Will you stand with us as Rutilio did? Romero's “yes” was in deeds.
The peasants had asked for a good shepherd and that night they received one.
Romero already understood the church is more than the hierarchy, Rome, theologians or clerics—
more than an institution—but that night he experienced the people as church. “God needs the people
themselves,” he said, “to save the world . . . The world of the poor teaches us that liberation will arrive
only when the poor are not simply on the receiving end of hand-outs from governments or from the
churches, but when they themselves are the masters and protagonists of their own struggle for
liberation.”
Romero's great helplessness
was that he could not stop the
violence. Within the next year
some 200 catechists and
farmers who watched him walk
into that country church were
killed. Over 75,00 Salvadorans
would be killed, one million
would flee the country, another
million left homeless,
constantly on the run from the
army—and this in a country of
only 5.5 million. All Romero
had to offer the people were
weekly homilies broadcast
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throughout the country, his voice assuring them, not that atrocities would cease, but that the church of
the poor, themselves, would live on.
“If some day they take away the radio station from us . . . if they don't let us speak, if they kill all the
priests and the bishop too, and you are left a people without priests, each one of you must become
God's microphone, each one of you must become a prophet.”
By 1980, amidst overarching violence, Romero wrote to President
Jimmy Carter pleading with him to cease sending military aid
because he wrote, “it is being used to repress my people.” The U.S.
sent $1.5 million in aid every day for 12 years. His letter went
unheeded. Two months later he would be assassinated.
On March 23 Romero walked into the fire. He openly challenged
an army of peasants, whose high command feared and hated his
reputation. Ending a long homily broadcast throughout the
country, his voice rose to breaking, “Brothers, you are from the
same people; you kill your fellow peasant . . . No soldier is obliged
to obey an order that is contrary to the will of God . . . “
There was thunderous applause; he was inviting the army to
mutiny. Then his voice burst, “In the name of God then, in the
name of this suffering people I ask you, I beg you, I command you in the name of God: stop the
repression.”
Romero's murder was a savage warning. Even some who attended Romero's funeral were shot down
in front of the cathedral by army sharpshooters on rooftops. To this day no investigation has revealed
Romero's killers. What endures is Romero's promise.
Days before his murder he told a reporter, “You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me,
that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A
bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish.”
The twentieth century has been the bloodiest century in history. In what Jose Marti called the “hour of
the furnaces,” Oscar Romero, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Fannie Lou Hamer,
Dom Helder Camara, Maura Clark, Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Jeann Donovan, and Ella Baker
accompanied those who were in the sights of the men with guns. They burned brighter.
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Monseñor Romero’s Homily
Dedicated Love
Homily for the Funeral Mass of Father Rutilio Grande, from March 14, 1977
http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/index.php?nuc=homilies&item=13&func=view&id=19
Most excellent representative of His Holiness, the Pope, dear brother bishops, priests and faithful:
It seems to me that on a few occasions, like this morning, the cathedral becomes an image of the
universal Church. For here the whole rich pastoral ministry of a local Church is gathered together and
joined to the pastoral ministry of all the dioceses of our country and those of the whole world.
We are aware not only of the presence of the living, but also of the three deceased persons who give
this image of the Church a dimension of openness to the Absolute, to the Infinite, to One who is greater
than us: the universal Church, the Church that is greater than history and greater than human life.
If this were an ordinary funeral, I would speak here, my dear sisters and brothers, about the human
and personal relationship that I shared with Father Rutilio Grande whom I considered a brother. At
important moments in my life, he was very close to me and I will never forget his gestures of
friendship. But this is not the time to speak about my personal feelings but to proclaim, in the
presence of these bodies, a message for all of us who continue the pilgrimage of life.
I want to base my message on the words of the Pope, present this morning through his representative,
the Nuncio, who gives to our image of Church a sense of unity which I now feel in the Archdiocese
during these tragic hours, this sense of unity that is present as a result of these sacrifices that the
Church is offering.
The message of Paul VI, when he speaks to us about evangelization2, provides us with guidelines that
help us understand Rutilio Grande. What is the role of the Church in this universal struggle for
liberation from so much misery? The Pope reminds us that in the 1974 Synod, the voices of the world’s
bishops, represented especially by those bishops from the Third World, cried out on behalf of those
who remain on the margin of life famine, chronic disease, illiteracy, poverty. The Church cannot absent
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itself from this struggle for liberation, but its presence in this struggle must lift up and respect human
dignity. It must proclaim a very unique message and be present in a very unique way—a presence that
the world might not understand but that provides the seed and the possibility for victory and success.
The Pope stated: The Church is providing these Christian “liberators” with the inspiration of faith, the
motivation of fraternal love, a social teaching which the true Christian cannot ignore and which he
must make the foundation of his wisdom and of his experience in order to translate it concretely into
forms of action, participation and commitment.
The inspiration of faith
This is the liberation that the Church proclaims. For this reason the Pope stated: The Church’s
liberation cannot be confused with other liberation movements lacking in other-worldly and spiritual
horizons. Above all else, the liberation proclaimed by the Church is based on an inspiration of faith.
And here is Father Rutilio Grande, a priest, a Christian who at the time of his baptism and priestly
ordination made a profession of faith: I believe in God the Father, revealed by Christ, his Son, who
loves us and invites us to love one another.
I believe in the Church that is a sign of the presence of God’s love in the world where men and women
extend their hands and encounter one another as sisters and brothers. I believe in the Church that
enlightens faith and distinguishes her from liberation movements that are simply political, economical
or worldly and that do not move beyond this world’s ideologies, interests and realities (An adaptation
of the Profession of Faith from the Rite for Baptism).
My sisters and brothers, let no one here present think that this gathering in the presence of Father
Grande’s body is some political act with sociological or economic implications. No, it is not that, rather
is a gathering in faith—a faith that through Father Grande’s body, dead in hope, is opened to eternal
horizons. The liberation that Father Grande preached is inspired by faith, a faith that speaks to us
about eternal life, a faith that he, with his face raised toward heaven and accompanied by two
campesinos, offered up in its totality and perfection: liberation which culminates with happiness with
God; liberation which brings about a repentance for sin, liberation based on Christ, the only saving
power. This is the liberation that Father Rutilio Grande preached and therefore, he has lived the
Church’s message.
The social teaching of the Church
First of all, the Church is providing us with Christian liberators inspired by faith. Secondly, the Church
is providing us with men and women who base their lives on a doctrine: the social doctrine of the
Church that tells people that the Christian religion is not one dimensional, spiritualistic, unmindful of
the misery that surrounds people. Rather our religion beholds God and from this perspective sees the
neighbor as brother or sister and is aware of the fact that what you did for one of these least brothers
or sisters of mine, you did for me. It is hoped that all those movements that are sensitive to the social
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question would be aware of this doctrine. For in this way
they will avoid failure and short-sightedness—a shortsightedness that is unable to see beyond worldly realities and
structures. As long as our hearts are not converted, as long as
our lives are not based on this doctrine that is enlightened by
faith and that allows us to harmonize our hearts with that of
God, then everything will be feeble, revolutionary, passing
and violent. None of these things is Christian. Indeed, we can
call Christian only that which is inspired by the true doctrine
that the Church proposes to people. How enlightened the
world would be if people based their social action, their life,
and their concrete commitments in political and economic
affairs on the social doctrine of the Church! This is what Father Rutilio Grande preached. Because this
doctrine is misunderstood, assassination is so often the result and in fact this is why Father Rutilio
Grande died. He died because the social doctrine of the Church is confused with the political doctrine
that obstructs the world. The Church’s social doctrine is often viewed as subversive, and yet this is so
far removed from the wisdom of the Church’s doctrine that is proposed as a basis for our lives.
My brother priests, this message of Father Rutilio Grande is very important for us. Let us embrace it
and in light of this doctrine and faith, let us work together. Let us not be separated by advanced,
dangerous ideologies that are not based on the faith of the Gospel. Let us enlighten our doctrine, our
actions as good Samaritans and our preaching of the commandment of Jesus with the light that the
Church, the depository of the faith, is trying to actualize in these mysterious, convulsive times of our
country. This is the same message that the Bishops proclaimed yesterday in their message to the
people.
My dear priests, I am happy that among the fruits of this death that we mourn and of other difficult
circumstances that we confront at this time, the clergy are united with their Bishop and the faithful
understand that there is one faith that leads us along paths that are quite distinct from other
ideologies that are not of the Church—paths that offer an alternative to these ideologies: the cause of
love.
The motive of love. The cause of love. My sisters and brothers there should be no feeling of vengeance
among us. As the bishops stated yesterday, we do not raise our voice for revenge. We are concerned
about the things of God who commands us to love him above all things and to love one another as we
love ourselves. Yes, it is certain that we have asked the legal authorities to shed light on this criminal
act for they have in their hands the instruments of this nation’s justice and they must clarify this
situation. We are not accusing anyone nor are we making judgments before we have all the facts. We
hope to hear the voice of an impartial justice since the cause of love cannot be separated from justice.
There can be no true peace or love that is based on injustice or violence or intrigue.
True love is the gift that Father Rutilio Grande gives us in his death with the two campesinos. The
Church loves in this same way and, through the deceased, presents us with the transcendence of the
Kingdom. The Church loves them and it should be pointed out that it was at the time when Father
Grande walked among the people, proclaiming the message of salvation and the Mass, that he was shot
down. A priest with his campesinos, walking to meet his people, to identify himself with them, to live
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with them—this is an inspiration of love and not revolution. It is an inspiration of love because love is
what inspires us, my sisters and brothers. Who knows if those responsible for this criminal act and
who have been excommunicated are listening to the radio in their hideout and hearing these words?
My dear criminals, we want to tell you that we love you and we ask God to pour forth repentance into
your hearts. The Church is incapable of hatred. The Church has no enemies. Its only enemies are those
who declare themselves as such. But even these she loves and dies like
Jesus, saying to them: Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.
The love of God inspired the actions of Father Rutilio. My dear priests, let us embrace this precious
inheritance. Those who listened to him and understood his ideals, know that he was incapable of
preaching hatred and incapable of stirring up violence.
Perhaps this is why God chose Father Rutilio for martyrdom because those whom he knew and those
who knew him are well aware of the fact that he never called people to violence, vengeance or hatred.
He died loving and without a doubt, when he felt those first jolts that brought him death, he was able
to speak those words of Jesus: Father, forgive them, they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
My dear sisters and brothers, in the name of the Archdiocese I want to thank all those who collaborate
in the process of Christian liberation. I want to thank Father Grande and his two companions, now on
the journey to eternity, for they gift this gathering of Church, this gathering of priests from the
archdiocese and the other dioceses in El Salvador, and this gathering in which the Holy Father is
present through the Papal Nuncio, they gift us with the true perspective of our mission. Let us not
forget it. We are a pilgrim Church, exposed to misunderstanding and persecution, but we are a Church
that walks calmly because we carry within us this power of love.
Dear people of El Salvador, at this crossroad in our history it can seem that there is no other solution
but to seek violence. I tell you, my sisters and brothers: Blessed be God who through the death of
Father Grande is telling the Church: Yes, there is a solution. The solution is love. The solution is faith.
The solution is found in the fact that the Church has no enemies. The solution is based on the reality
that the Church is a circle in which God hopes to encounter all people.
Let us understand this Church; let us be inspired with this love; let us live this faith and I assure you
that there is a solution to all of our great social problems.
As Archbishop, I also want to thank all who work in harmony with the Church’s lines of action, all who
are enlightened by faith and animated by love, all who establish the foundation of their wisdom on the
Church’s social doctrine.
Thank you, my dear sisters and brothers, all of you who accompany us in this hour of sorrow.
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The Beatification
Reflections on the beatification of Oscar Romero
Post by Tim's El Salvador Blog, post from May, 2015
http://luterano.blogspot.com/2015/05/reflections-on-beatification-of-oscar.html
I had the good fortune to attend the beatification ceremony for
martyred archbishop Oscar Romero celebrated by the Roman
Catholic church in San Salvador on May 23, 2015. Three of us
stood with hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans in the streets
surrounding Plaza Salvador del Mundo as the church held up the
life and example of the bishop who was the Voice for the Voiceless.
As Carlos Colorado sums up in his blog:
And then, there is the impression the event made on those who
attended, and even those who experienced it remotely or learn
about it later on. The grandeur and spectacle of the event will
loom large in the popular imagination. It was, as presidential
spokesman Eugenio Chicas said, “the event of the century” for El Salvador. Little details, from the 30
minute-long procession of over a thousand priests and bishops entering the altar to the astonishing
solar halo that dazzled onlookers by appearing precisely during the rite of beatification, seem to
assure that the memory of the event will be seared in the historic memory as an eye-popping
spectacle.
In the short term, these feel-good atmospherics will generate positivity and good will. But they will
also generate expectations and not all of those expectations will be fulfilled.
So what did it all mean?
For the Roman Catholic church, Romero's beatification certainly reflects the emphasis of Pope Francis
who wants his church to focus on serving the poor throughout the world. The Catholic social justice
tradition which has not received top billing from the Vatican in recent decades, now has a prominence
epitomized by Romero. The personal intervention of the first Latin American pope moved Romero's
cause from a slow crawl to the fast track.
For El Salvador, Romero's beatification is part of the consolidation of post war gains. Romero was
assassinated by a right wing oligarchy who could not bear his message that the poor and downtrodden had human rights and were worthy of dignity. But now El Salvador has its second peacefully
elected left wing government in a row, and the beatification was a national celebration of Romero's
message over and against those who tried to silence it with an assassin's bullet. (Of course not all are
unified behind this message, as symbolically seen in the short-lived renaming of a street in San
Salvador this year for the man who ordered the assassination, Roberto D'Aubuisson).
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For people who struggle for social justice throughout Latin America, the beatification was a chance to
remember the example of a person who had long been a martyr and a saint in their eyes regardless of
whether the church had formally recognized him as such. “San Romero de las Americas” was finally
receiving the official recognition from his church which those struggling for justice had given him all
along.
For hundreds of street vendors, the beatification ceremonies were a chance to eek out a living. Some
hawked bottles of water, others jewelry or T-shirts or posters, others sold dulces or tortillas or
pupusas. They are part of the hundreds of thousands of poor Salvadorans who labor daily in the
informal economy. Oscar Romero, with his open heart for the poor, would have been walking side by
side with them, more comfortable sharing their burdens than in the ornate trappings of a beatification
ceremony attended by princes of the church and heads of state.
It is fitting to conclude with words from one of Romero's homilies:
We have never preached violence except the violence of love, which left Christ nailed to a cross,
The violence that we must each do to ourselves
to overcome our selfishness
and such cruel inequalities among us.
The violence we preach is not the violence of the sword,
the violence of hatred.
It is the violence of love,
of brotherhood,
the violence that wills to beat weapons
into sickles for work.
November 27, 1977, English translation in The Violence of Love.
More from the beatification ceremony on May 23, 2015:
Video of the event
Texts from the ceremony
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The Beatification
Archbishop Paglia´s Final Allocution during the beatification Ceremony
Post by El Salvador Misionero
http://elsalvadormisionero.org/node/1291
Brothers and sisters,
Today there is a big celebration here in El Salvador. And a big celebration up in heaven. If we lift our
eyes upwards we will see the sky open up and show us Oscar Romero surrounded by many men and
women who rejoice with him. They are priests, men and women religious, catechists, and simple
faithful who were brutally murdered. And many others who have followed, heard and loved him. They
are a precious treasure of the faith of the Church of El Salvador, the faith of this land. Among them we
see Monsignor Rivera Damas, who started the beatification cause. And Rutilio Grande, with Nelson and
Manuel, who is in the process of beatification. They all see him and celebrate him and they come
together with us.
Truly, Romero is now Blessed. He truly is happy for this day. But, he is not happy about his
beatification. He did not need it. Romero is happy because he sees us together. This was the dream he
had for the country and the Church. It is for them that he gave his own life. His beatification makes us
breathe this dream, it awakens us and from heaven he urges us not waste this, not to let it burn out.
This means that now starts a new time for El Salvador, and for anyone who loves the Church and the
poor. This is how we pick up Romero’s legacy. He loved to say that the Second Vatican Council calls on
all of us, all Christians, to be martyrs, that is, to give our lives for the gospel, for others, and for the
poor. Yes, dear friends, this beatification asks us all to be martyrs: that is, to give our life for others, for
a world of peace and love as did Archbishop Romero.
Walking toward the canonization of Archbishop Romero with Pope Francis is the goal we have. It
means ... It means walking together with him, distancing ourselves from all forms of violence and
practicing love and peace. That is the miracle we ask from the Blessed Oscar Romero: the miracle to
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remain united and to change the world with our love. Only love—not violence—changes the world.
For this reason—for this reason the motto of Archbishop Romero “To Sense with the Church” could
translate for us to “To Sense with Romero”. Yes, we sense with Romero, brothers and sisters. And El
Salvador and the world will change.
Thank you very much.
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Apostolic Letter from Pope Francis Authorizing the
Beatification of Archbishop Romero (May 14, 2015)
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Activity

Create cards with quotes from Romero, randomly assigning them to group members. Each
person can read out their quote and reflect on what it means to them. Others can respond with
their own thoughts.

Read a poem dedicated to Romero and then reflect on how it inspires you to make positive
changes in your community.
Romero´s Quotes for Reflection

“Each one of you has to be God’s microphone. Each one of you has to be a messenger, a prophet.
The church will always exist as long as there is someone who has been baptized…Where is your
baptism? You are baptized in your professions, in the fields of workers, in the market.
Wherever there is someone who has been baptized, that is where the church is. There is a
prophet there. Let us not hide the talent that God gave us on the day of our baptism and let us
truly live the beauty and responsibility of being a prophetic people.”

“The transcendence that the church
preaches is not alienation; it is not going
to heaven to think about eternal life and
forget about the problems on earth. It’s a
transcendence from the human heart. It
is entering into the reality of a child, of
the poor, of those wearing rags, of the
sick, of a hovel, of a shack. It is going to
share with them. And from the very
heart of misery, of this situation, to
transcend it, to elevate it, to promote it,
and to say to them, ‘You aren’t trash. You
aren’t marginalized.’ It is to say exactly
the opposite, ‘You are valuable.’”

“We have never preached violence,
except the violence of love, which left
Christ nailed to a cross, the violence that
we must each do to ourselves to
overcome our selfishness and such cruel
inequalities among us. The violence we
preach is not the violence of the sword,
the violence of hatred. It is the violence
of love, of brotherhood, the violence that
wills to beat weapons into sickles for
work.”
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
“Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism.
Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.”

“Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grains
of wheat that dies. It only apparently dies. If it were not to die, it would remain a solitary grain.
The harvest comes because of the grain that dies . . . We know that every effort to improve
society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses; that
God wants; that God demands of us.”

“There are not two categories of people. There are not some who were born to have everything
and leave others with nothing and a majority that has nothing and can’t enjoy the happiness
that God has created for all. God wants a Christian society, one in which we share the good
things that God has given for all of us.”

“Here there is a challenge from Christ to the goodness of humankind. It is not enough to be
good. It is not enough to not do evil. My Christianity is something more positive; it is not a
negative. There are many who say, ‘But I don’t kill, I don’t steal, I don’t do anything bad to
anyone.’ That’s not enough. You are still lacking a great deal. It is not enough to be good.”
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Poem “A future Not our Own”
A prayer/poem inspired by Oscar Romero
It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
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With your donation of…
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

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Contribute to SHARE’s Legacy Fund
For thirty-five years, SHARE El Salvador has supported human rights, sustainable
community development, and civic participation in El Salvador. Providing opportunities for
Salvadorans committed to social justice, especially women and young people, to access education has
been an integral part of our success.
With this in mind SHARE aims to double our support for the next generation of Salvadoran leaders by
building a reliable, long-term source of funding.
We invite you to join us in providing access to scholarships, leadership workshops, and technical
training to the next generation of Salvadoran leaders by making a contribution to the SHARE El
Salvador Legacy Fund. Please consider for a moment the following list of opportunities to make a
charitable gift.
Designated Gifts: You can make a donation to the Legacy Fund today that will provide educational
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Closing Letter from Executive Director Jose Artiga
Dear Friends of San Romero,
Thank you for joining with us to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the life and resurrection of our
beloved Monsenor Romero.
I had the honor to be at his beatification last May in El Salvador. Our 35-person delegation stayed in
Soyapango, one of the most violent regions in the country. The families and youth embraced us and
were so happy we were there celebrating their and our Romero.
We want to celebrate a Romero that is alive in the struggle of his people and therefore invite you to
celebrate Romero by supporting SHARE’s youth scholarship program that helps educate promising
leaders who can guide their communities into the future, our women political leadership development
program that promotes women’s participation in politics to advance the rights of women, and our
women’s gardens and microcredit program that helps women obtain food sovereignty and economic
stability.
We also want to invite you to start brainstorming on ideas for Romero’s 100th birthday next
year. Perhaps you might organize a special event in your community, something with life and energy
like a concert, a walk, a dinner, a live mass, etc. We also want you to reserve the time to join a SHARE
delegation to go to El Salvador and join the thousands from El Salvador and all over the world that will
be saying Romero PRESENTE.
Prayers and Blessings of Solidarity,
José Artiga, Executive Director
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