Father Zacarias Martínez, parochial vicar of Good
Shepherd Church in Alexandria, will visit El Salvador for the
beatification of Archishop Óscar Romero May 23.
Archbishop Romero was assassinated in 1980 while celebrating
Mass in a hospital chapel in San Salvador, the capital city.
During the Central American country’s civil war, Archbishop
Romero famously stood up for the poor and oppressed, and
opposed U.S. military aid to the Salvadoran government.
The beatification will take place in an outdoor Mass in Plaza
Divino Salvador del Mundo in San Salvador. Italian Cardinal
Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints, will celebrate the Mass.
In addition to participating in the Mass beatifying Romero,
Father Martínez plans to take part in the Sonsonate
Diocese’s Pentecost celebration, as well as a discussion
about Archbishop Romero as a figure in the Salvadoran church.
During his four-day trip, he also plans to visit family in
San Francisco Chinameca, his hometown.
“For me, as a Christian and a Catholic priest, it is an honor
to participate in the beatification of the first Blessed
person among my country’s many martyrs,” said Father
Martínez. “Above all, Msgr. Romero has been a great
pastor and martyr, a real example for future generations.”
Efforts for the archbishop’s beatification and canonization
began in the early ’90s, with the Congregation for the Causes
of Saints accepting documents in 1997 under Pope John Paul
II, but controversy has long shrouded canonization efforts
for the archbishop, as a miracle is generally required for
sainthood.
Pope Francis has sped up the canonization process for
Archbishop Romero, declaring him a martyr in February.
“In the (best) sense of the word, we (Salvadorans) should
feel proud to have a beatified bishop, pastor and prophet,”
said Father Martínez. “For the many of us Salvadorans
living in Virginia, this should be a sign from God, a hopeful
sign that today beatification and sainthood are upon us. We
should take Msgr. Romero’s example of humility, sensitivity,
being a man of prayer, loyal to the Word of God, a man of
hope and a burning candle for the Eucharist.”
According to the Pew Research Center, a self-described
“nonpartisan fact tank,” Virginia has one of the highest
concentrations of Salvadoran immigrants in the country. Of
the estimated 2 million Salvadoran and Salvadoran-American
immigrants living in the United States, 7 percent live in
Virginia. California and Texas also have sizable Salvadoran
communities.
Pew Hispanic, a project of the Pew Research Center,
identifies the Salvadoran community as the largest Hispanic
immigrant group in the Washington metro area.
Stoddard can be reached at [email protected].
