Father Romero

I was ordained a priest in 1942 and was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. At the time, I was viewed as a conservative bookworm and was widely supported in the government. But my country was swept by human rights abuses from paramilitary right-wing groups, from left-wing guerrillas, and from the government. As I saw the poor of our nation persecuted and saw my fellow priests be killed for speaking out, I became an outspoken advocate for the poor and for political justice. I demanded peace, a peace that could only be found in human rights and assurances of basic dignities. I was shot to death in 1980 while celebrating mass, the day after I gave a sermon calling for soldiers to disobey orders that violated basic human rights. I am currently being considered for canonization.