NOVANEWS
A photo of Oscar Romero exhibited in San Salvador’s Historic Museum
The chief promoter of the archbishop’s sainthood is scheduled to officially make the announcement Wednesday.
Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero will be beatified in El Salvador’s capital city San Salvador on May 23, Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, reported Wednesday.
Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the chief promoter of the archbishop’s sainthood cause, is scheduled to officially make the announcement March 11 during his visit to San Salvador, Avvenire added.
“Wait for very good news today from El Salvador,” he published on his Twitter account March 11.
On Feb. 3, Pope Francis officially recognized that Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith” — and not for purely political reasons, the newspaper said.
Pope Francis signed the decree recognizing Archbishop Romero as a martyr last month, which meant there was no need to prove a miracle for his beatification, although a miracle is normally required for canonization as saint.
ALSO SEE: Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero Headed for Beatification
READ MORE: Archbishop Oscar Romero: ‘If They Kill Me, I Will Be Reborn’
The slain Salvadoran archbishop, who was an outspoken advocate for the poor, was murdered March 24, 1980, as he celebrated Mass in a hospital in San Salvador amid the country’s civil war.
Romero’s sainthood cause began in 1993, but the process was stalled decades as a result of misunderstandings and preconceptions, due to his political advocacy and apparent links to Liberation Theology.
This movement was heavily criticized by the Vatican because of its focus on systemic sin, apparently excluding individual offenders and offenses, and for identifying Catholic Church hierarchy in South America as members of the same privileged class that had been oppressing indigenous populations.
However, Romero’s cause advanced quickly with the arrival in 2013 of Pope Francis as the first Latin American in history to head the Vatican.
Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the chief promoter of the archbishop’s sainthood cause, is scheduled to officially make the announcement March 11 during his visit to San Salvador, Avvenire added.
“Wait for very good news today from El Salvador,” he published on his Twitter account March 11.
On Feb. 3, Pope Francis officially recognized that Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith” — and not for purely political reasons, the newspaper said.
Pope Francis signed the decree recognizing Archbishop Romero as a martyr last month, which meant there was no need to prove a miracle for his beatification, although a miracle is normally required for canonization as saint.
ALSO SEE: Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero Headed for Beatification
READ MORE: Archbishop Oscar Romero: ‘If They Kill Me, I Will Be Reborn’
The slain Salvadoran archbishop, who was an outspoken advocate for the poor, was murdered March 24, 1980, as he celebrated Mass in a hospital in San Salvador amid the country’s civil war.
Romero’s sainthood cause began in 1993, but the process was stalled decades as a result of misunderstandings and preconceptions, due to his political advocacy and apparent links to Liberation Theology.
This movement was heavily criticized by the Vatican because of its focus on systemic sin, apparently excluding individual offenders and offenses, and for identifying Catholic Church hierarchy in South America as members of the same privileged class that had been oppressing indigenous populations.
However, Romero’s cause advanced quickly with the arrival in 2013 of Pope Francis as the first Latin American in history to head the Vatican.
