Oscar Romero

"You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish." -Oscar Romero

Archbishop Oscar Romero is my hero because of his bravery and boldness. His homilies, most about poverty and other injustices, were broadcasted all across the country. He even spoke out against the murders and other evils that were committed by the government. These actions, though, cost him his life.

Oscar Romero was born on August 15, 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador. He was born to Santos Romero and Guadalupe de Jesus Galdamez. Oscar was the second of seven children: Gustavo, Zaida, Romulo, Mamerto, Arnoldo, and Gaspar. He was 13 when he declared his vocation to the Catholic Church.

After he declared his vocation to the Church, he studied at San Miguel, then a larger school in the capital, but because of his perseverance, he was transferred to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. There, Italy was engulfed in the Second World War. While most of his colleagues fled the country back to their homes, he stayed to finish his studies. After he got his licentiate degree in theology, he traveled back to El Salvador. He became Archbishop of San Salvador in 1970.

In 1977, his friend and fellow priest, Rutillo Grande, was killed. After that, he became bolder and started to speak up against the El Salvadoran government and their treatment to others. He truly cared about those experiencing poverty and other injustices, which is why he started to speak out for the poor and oppressed, which caused conflicts between him and the government. After a coup d'etat overthrew the Salvadoran government, he wrote to the United States' President Jimmy Carter pleading for him to stop sending military help to the regime saying, "We are being fed up with weapons and bullets." On May 24th, 1980, he was assassinated while celebrating mass.