Archbishop Oscar Romero

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Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero was born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador on August 15, 1917. He was the second of seven children born to parents Santos Romero and Guadalupe de Jesus Santos. At the age of twelve, his parents were not able to afford his education and therefore apprenticed him to a carpenter. Oscar trained to be a carpenter, but he always knew he wanted to be a priest. When he was just thirteen years old, he left home to study at a seminary in the city of San Miguel (Kellogg). There he studied for seven years, and left in 1937 for the national seminary, which was run by the Jesuits in San Salvador. He later went to Rome and studied Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. While studying there, World War II spread throughout Europe, but that did not stop him from earning his Licentiate degree in Theology.
On April 4, 1942, Oscar Romero was ordained a priest of the diocese of San Salvador. After his ordination, he stayed in Rome to obtain a Doctoral degree in Theology, but before he could finish, he was summoned back to El Salvador due to a shortage of priests (Following Jesus). For more than twenty years, Romero worked in San Miguel, where he worked as a parish priest and diocesan secretary. Father Romero not only served in San Miguel, but he also served in the cathedral parish of Santo Domingo as pastor and as editor of the archdiocesan newspaper, Orientacion. By 1970 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop to San Salvador Archbishop Luis Chavez y Gonzalez. And in 1977 Oscar Romero was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador (United Nations). As an Archbishop, Romero was a source of hope and strength for the poor in his country. He took their struggles as his own by working with them and for them, but becoming an Archbis...

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...ons to come. He was a fearless defender of the poor and it could be said that he was their light at the end of the tunnel. Because of his courageous stand for justice, he became a martyr not only for the poor of El Salvador, but also for all the people struggling to overcome oppression and poverty. Romero's courageous life and martyred death continue to inspire those who struggle for human dignity and justice. After Romero’s death, El Salvador went through a major civil war, which lasted for twelve years. He is internationally recognized and remembered by the United Nations General Assembly, by Pope John Paul II, and by president Obama. His cause for canonization was opened in 1997, and Pope John Paul II bestowed upon Oscar Romero the title of “Servant of God.” Even though he has not officially been declared a saint, the Salvadoran people named him a saint long ago.

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