At the annual Mass honoring St. Oscar Romero, the late archbishop of San Salvador, Auxiliary Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera of the Archdiocese of Cuzco, Peru, said Romero “was a great prophet and martyr” who dedicated his life to seeking peace and justice in his beloved Central American country.         

“It is a great joy to be here with all of you,” Bishop Estrada said during welcoming remarks, citing his admiration of Romero since his youth in his native Peru. He noted that two days earlier, March 24, the date of Romero’s 1980 assassination, followers of “this great prophet and martyr” prayed for his intercession “for El Salvador, for all Latin America and the Caribbean, and for the entire world.”

The Spanish Mass, which also honored the Martyrs of El Salvador, was held Sunday, March 26 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. 

Bishop Estrada, who served as principal celebrant and homilist, later noted in the homily that Romero gave his life “for Jesus Christ, for His Kingdom, for His Church, for His people, in defense of the faith; this is Oscar Romero.”           

His Excellency went on to talk of the importance of Romero’s mission to speak out for peace and justice in El Salvador, and of the significance of the Lenten Season, noting the Mass was being celebrated on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. 

“We are living in difficult times at this moment in the world,” the bishop said to the faithful, noting the importance of trusting in the Lord and remembering how, in the day’s readings, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. “Only in Christ, only in Him, do we find hope,” Bishop Estrada said, adding that St. Oscar Romero inspired many to be advocates for those who suffer in poverty and injustice, and urged the faithful in the pews to also be “a voice for the voiceless” via multiple means including social media. 

About 800 people attended the Mass. The concelebrants included Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. 

St. Oscar Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a hospital chapel in his native El Salvador. The Salvadoran Civil War began in October 1979 and ended in January 1992. The UN reported more than 75,000 died and an unknown number disappeared.  

The Martyrs of El Salvador were the six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter who were martyred at the University in El Salvador in 1989; Venerable Father Rutilio Grande, S.J., who was martyred in 1977; Venerable Father Cosme Spessotto, O.F.M., who was killed in 1980; and the four churchwomen (two Maryknoll nuns, an Ursuline nun, and a lay missioner), who were killed in 1980.  

The six Jesuit priests were Father Ignacio Ellacuría, Father Ignacio Martín-Baró, Father Amando López Quintana, Father Juan Ramón Moreno Pardo, Father Joaquin López y López, and Father Segundo Montes Mozo. The housekeeper was Elba Ramos, and her teen daughter Celina Ramos. 

The four churchwomen were Maryknoll Sister Maura Clark and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and lay missioner Jean Donovan of the Diocese of Cleveland. 

March 24, the date of Romero’s assassination, is World Day of Truth Concerning Human Rights Violations, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 in recognition of Archbishop Romero’s role in the defense of human rights. 

Daniel Erazo, consul general of El Salvador in New York, gave closing remarks of gratitude toward the end of the cathedral Mass, saying “it is with much joy” that he attended the Mass for Romero.    

“This is the path that we all must take, to be the voice for the voiceless like St. Oscar Romero,” Maria Galvez, lead organizer of the Romero Mass committee, told The Good Newsroom after the Mass. “We should follow his example,” she said, citing the need to help the poor and victims of injustice, and in general “always help our neighbor.”