BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO,
MAY 23, 2015
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| Archbishop Escobar blesses Romero image (by Luis Lazo Chaparro) |
San Salvador Archbishop
José Luis Escobar Alas announced during the patronal celebrations of the Divine
Savior of the World that from August 15 of this year through August 15, 2017 a
jubilee year will be observed, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of
Blessed Oscar Romero. “We make the
official proclamation regarding the centenary of the birth of Blessed Oscar
Romero,” said the Archbishop. “The
Jubilee Year will begin on August 15 at 5:00 pm with a Mass at the Metropolitan
Cathedral.”
A “jubilee
year” or “Holy Year” in the Catholic Church is a time when spiritual graces are
granted to the faithful who meet certain conditions, in imitation of the
jubilee year of the Israelites mentioned in the Old Testament, which was a time
for rest, during which slaves were freed, the land was not worked, and
possessions that had been acquired were restituted.
The
announcement of the Jubilee for the Blessed Romero centennial was made before
thousands of faithful gathered before the facade of the cathedral where the
mortal remains of the martyred archbishop rest. “We hope that when the jubilee year is over, Archbishop Romero will have
already been declared a saint,” said Archbishop Escobar, prompting applause
from the faithful upon hearing the name of the first Salvadoran blessed. Romero’s
canonization cause in Rome is waiting for a proven miracle that can be
attributed to his intercession.
Blessed Romero
was born on August 15, 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador. After a life
dedicated to various ecclesiastical duties, he was appointed Archbishop of San
Salvador in 1977, during an acute political and social conflict. As archbishop,
he made a mark as a “zealous pastor” defender of the poor and staunch critic of
human rights abuses. He was killed by the extreme right in 1980, and after an intense
ecclesiastical process, was declared a martyr and beatified by the Church in
May 2015.
Other
organizations have also joined the commemoration of Blessed Romero. Cultura
Romeriana, an association with which this blog is affiliated, is also planning
activities, including a pilgrimage to Ciudad Barrios on Sunday August14,
leaving from the Metropolitan Cathedral. The group will be present at the Mass for
the official start of the jubilee year to hand out a Romero Rosary recently
approved by the Church.
The “Archbishop
Romero National Committee” has organized various activities around the
anniversary, including a day of solidarity with patients at the Divine
Providence Hospital where Romero lived and was killed. The group will celebrate
Mass on Saturday August 13, at 8:00 am where food, some bedding, and paper will
be collected, to benefit the sick in the hospital. On August 28, a mini
marathon from the Divine Providence Hospital to the Divine Savior of the World monument
will be held. Parallel to the activity, a medical campaign will be offered by
FOSALUD doctors to provide consultations to people who want them as part of the
activities.
The
commemorative activities will not be limited to the national borders. In
London, the Romero Trust will hold a memorial Mass at the Cathedral of St.
George in Southwark, on August 13 at 12:30 pm local time. The Mass will be
presided by Bishop Patrick Lynch,.
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