Oscar Romero
Martyr of the Church
Biography
Oscar “Monsenor” Romero was born on August 15, 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador. On May 11, 1919, at the age of 2, he was baptized into the Catholic Church. He had six brothers and sisters: Gustavo, Zaída, Rómulo, Mamerto, Arnoldo and Gaspar. When he was young, he could usually be found at the church. When he was 7 years old, he suffered from an unknown life-threatening illness, from which he eventually recovered. His father, Santos Romero, trained him to be a carpenter, but Romero felt called to life in the church. At age 13, he went to a minor seminary in San Miguel. He left in 1937 to go to the national seminary run by the Jesuits in San Salvador. He also studied to be a priest in Rome. Oscar Romero was ordained a Catholic priest in the diocese of San Salvador in 1942. In 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador. During his time in the church, Romero was known for his sermons and did lots of work for the poor.
Oscar Romero Mostly spoke out for the poor people who were mistreated very badly. He was known for defending the poor fearlessly and giving up his life for them. He began a ministry speaking on behalf of the poor. He started speaking out after he witnessed multiple violations of human rights. He is not a saint, but the Roman Catholic Church is considering it. In February of 1977, he was appointed archbishop of San Salvador, a city of El Salvador. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after he died. He became a target of the Salvadorian government because he asked Salvadorian soldiers to obey God and not the government. Because of his actions he was shot by an anonymous person on March 24, 1890. The government of San Salvador formally apologized for the assassination in 2010. Many people consider him to be like a Martin Luther King Jr. except he spoke out for the poor people, not racism.
Oscar Romero had to have a personal teacher that taught many subjects. The teacher though, cost a lot of money to pay. As a child, Oscar entered the minor seminary run in San Miguel, at the age of thirteen. At age seven, Oscar was diagnosed with an unknown life threatening illness. He later recovered from it. Oscar Romero’s father wanted him to be a carpenter. Because of this, Oscar’s father trained him in carpentry. Oscar Romero showed his father that he was very good at carpentry. His father also taught Oscar how to play the bamboo flute. Oscar Romero became an archbishop of San Salvador on February 23, 1977. People benefit from his existence because he spoke out about poverty, assassinations, tortures, and social injustices. Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980 while offering mass."Archbishop Oscar Romero, Servant of God." Saints Resource. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://saintsresource.com/saint-index/archbishop-oscar-romero-servant-of-god/>.
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"Right to Truth, Human Rights, Law, Violation, Justice, Protection of Witnesses, Serious Act of Violence, Archbishop Romero." UN News Center. UN. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. eb.