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Maryknoll Priest Recalls Life in El Salvador with Archbishop Oscar Romero

Contact: Mike Virgintino, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, 914-941-7636 ext 2219

MARYKNOLL, N.Y., May 11, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- In anticipation of the beatification ceremony of Archbishop Oscar Romero scheduled for May 23, 2015 in San Salvador, the following article about the archbishop was published in the March/April issue of "Maryknoll" magazine. The author is Father John Spain, M.M. From Troy, New York, Father Spain has served in El Salvador for many years.

    Saint in the Making

    By John Spain, M.M.

    As we prepare to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero's martyrdom, I am heartened by renewed interest in his life and the cause for his sainthood. Pope Francis has more than once spoken in favor of his beatification.

    I am grateful God gave me the privilege of knowing Archbishop Romero, beginning at a meeting I attended in 1971, when he was an auxiliary bishop. I was at his installation Mass as archbishop of San Salvador on February 22, 1977, which had to be hastily moved up because of increasing protests over social injustices and electoral fraud. A few days before, Father Bernie Survil, a Maryknoll priest associate then serving in El Salvador, had been detained by government agents for inquiring about the defacing of a church. I was sent to ask Archbishop Romero to intervene on Bernie's behalf. As he agreed to help, he asked, "Where is all this going?"

    It all went into such violence that a state of siege was declared in San Salvador, the capital. In response, the archbishop opened his offices to clergy and pastoral agents for a daily crisis meeting on developments affecting the Church and the people in general. I attended those meetings with Father Fabian Amaya, my pastor in the Ilopango parish. Many serious issues were shared at those meetings and at meetings with pastoral agents and the priests' council, of which I was a member.

    As a pastor, Archbishop Romero wanted to get a fuller grasp of the situation. He was a good listener. He also looked for help from diplomats and church leaders when a foreign priest was falsely accused and expelled from the country. Later he told us that governments make distinctions between citizens and foreign residents, but he holds us all as one in the service of the Gospel. I could feel his support.

    The persecution worsened when on March 12, 1977, Salvadoran Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande and two companions were assassinated. At their funeral in his first recorded homily as archbishop, he reminded us that Rutilio faithfully preached the social doctrine of the Church and together we must carry on his work. The archbishop warned that an attack on one of his priests was an attack on him.

    At the end of 1978 another Maryknoll priest and I were assigned to Ciudad Barrios, the rural parish where Archbishop Romero was born. He visited us in September 1979. His hometown people loved him. He wrote in his diary that he came to animate the recently arrived Maryknoll Fathers. The visit brought memories of his childhood, which, with the contact he made with old friends, renewed his enthusiasm to continue the vocation God had given him in that little town.

    On Monday afternoon, March 24, 1980, a Maryknoll seminarian and I, on our way to San Salvador, stopped to visit my former pastor, Father Fabian. He got a call saying the archbishop was shot. We immediately went to the hospital where they had taken him. We found a large group of clergy and pastoral agents talking about the unfolding events. I sensed their clarity as to who was responsible for Romero's death and why he was killed: he told the truth, preached the Gospel and told the soldiers not to follow orders to kill their defenseless brothers and sisters. He faithfully preached the Paschal Mystery and now he had entered fully into this mystery with Rutilio and countless others. A sense of consolation was beginning and was strengthened a few days later when we read Archbishop Romero's words to a Mexican journalist: "As a Christian, I do not believe in death without resurrection. If I am killed, I shall rise in the Salvadoran people."

    I went to the archbishop's funeral Mass on Sunday, March 30, 1980, where over 150,000 people filled the central plaza. I was standing in the cathedral near the coffin when several priests began to pick it up to bring it outside in front of the altar on the cathedral steps. I helped carry Archbishop Romero's coffin.

    During the homily of Cardinal Corripio of Mexico, we heard shooting and bombs going off outside the cathedral. There was a lot of confusion. I saw Archbishop John Quinn of San Francisco, who, as president of the U.S. Bishops Conference, was there representing the U.S. Church. He was standing near the doorway as the crowds pushed in to find refuge. I helped him come to a safer area. He gave general absolution to those around him, citing a similar action of a bishop during an earthquake in Italy when people were in danger of death. About 40 people died during Archbishop Romero's funeral.

    Later, U.S. reporters asked Archbishop Quinn his impressions. He responded: "Six days ago when Archbishop Romero was preaching the Word of God, he was horribly assassinated. Just a couple of hours ago when Cardinal Corripio, the archbishop of Mexico who was sent as the personal representative of the Holy Father, was preaching the Word of God, he was stopped by gunfire and bombs going off. There's someone out there who doesn't like the Word of God."

    Even before the formal cause for his sainthood was introduced, Salvadorans have been praying, asking Archbishop Romero to intercede for them. They are sure their prayers will be heard when helped by one so close to God.

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers follow Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in 26 countries that include the U.S. All Catholics are called to mission through baptism and confirmation, and Maryknoll's mission education outreach in parishes and schools throughout the country engages U.S. Catholics in mission through vocations, prayer, donations and as volunteers. Maryknoll missioners share God's love and the Gospel in combating poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and promoting human rights. For more information, visit maryknollsociety.org.

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