Óscar Romero

On March 24, 1980, a day after the Archbishop had delivered a speech to the Salvadorean soldiers to heed God's call and stop taking advantage of the poor, he was shot dead. The holy Mass had taken place at a small chapel in the 'La Divina Providencia' hospital.

Óscar was buried on March 30, 1980, at the 'Metropolitan Cathedral', in San Salvador, and his funeral service was attended by over 250,000 followers from across the globe. The same day, there were bomb attacks, suspected to be carried out by the army, killing several people who had come to pay respect to the priest.

Since the Archbishop's death, every March, a mass is conducted by the 'Irish-El Salvador Support Committee' to pay homage.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was born in El Salvador's municipality of Ciudad Barrios, to Santos and his wife Guadalupe de Jésus Galdámez, on August 15, 1917. When he was two years old, the young boy was baptized by Fr. Cecilio Morales.

Óscar had seven siblings—Gustavo, Rómulo, Zaída, Gaspar, Mamerto, Arnoldo and Aminta (who passed away as an infant).

The child attended a government-aided school till third grade, and then was taught at home by Anita Iglesias. Meanwhile, his father showed him the nuances of carpentry, since employment for the educated in El Salvador was not guaranteed.

The young boy of thirteen joined a divinity school in San Miguel, and then pursued his higher studies in Theology from San Salvador's seminary in 1937. After his father died, he travelled to Rome to get enrolled in the ‘Gregorian University’.

During the World War II, even though many students went back home because of the growing turmoil in Italy, Romero remained behind to complete his degree in theology during 1940-41.

1942, Romero became a catholic priest in Rome, but the next year he was asked to return home by the bishop at El Salvador. Along with friend Fr. Valladares, he set out for home, but was detained in Spain by Cuban officials for suspected association with Italian dictator Mussolini.

The two friends were imprisoned, during which Fr. Valladares fell seriously ill. They had to be transferred to a hospital, with help from priests belonging to the 'Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer'.

They were soon let go by the Cubans, and the two priests reached El Salvador. Óscar began his career as a priest in Anamorós for a brief period, and then settled down in San Miguel.

During his time in the Catholic church of San Miguel, the priest took efforts to contribute to the society in a meaningful way. He formed an 'Alcoholics Anonymous' association and assisted in building the cathedral. In recognition of his benefaction to the city, he was made the Rector of a seminary in San Salvador.

In 1966, he was appointed Secretary of El Salvador's 'Episcopal Conference', and the Director of the archdiocesan weekly 'Orientación'. The paper would publish instances of torture and repression, in order to create more awareness among the citizens.

Romero was known for his weekly sermons that were broadcast on the radio, with the intention of educating people about basic human rights and letting them know of the oppression people faced every day.

He was also famous for publicly condemning US President Jimmy Carter’s increasing military aid to El Salvador’s government, warning the latter that terror and assassination would become rampant.