Salvadorans Honor Slain Archbishop

A single bullet fired through Archbishop Oscar Romero’s chest took his life as he celebrated Mass in El Salvador on March 24, 1980. But his voice was not silenced.

On Saturday, about 50 Salvadoran and Central American immigrants gathered in front of St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Pico-Union to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Romero’s assassination.

After reciting prayers of remembrance in the church parking lot, the group marched along Pico Boulevard to Angelica Lutheran Church for an ecumenical service. Holding posters with Romero’s picture, Salvadoran immigrants such as Manuel Azenon said they were shaping Romero’s message to fit their new lives in Los Angeles.

“His message was that we’re all human, regardless of money, power or politics. We’re brothers,” Azenon said. “Though 20 years have passed, that message is even more powerful today.”

During El Salvador’s 12-year civil war, Romero committed himself to the poor, organized campesinos, and condemned military violence.

Some 3,000 people were reportedly killed monthly, most victims of the Salvadoran armed forces and right-wing death squads aligned with the military.

For his outspoken criticism, Romero paid the price, never receiving support from Pope John Paul II, isolated by some of his peers as a pariah priest, and finally killed in his church.

Although no one has ever been charged with his murder, a United Nations truth commission concluded that his death had been ordered by the military. Today, many religious leaders and church activists consider Romero among the most prominent martyrs of the 20th century.

Many of the 750,000 Salvadoran immigrants in Southern California who fled their country’s violence regard Romero as a modern saint. Salvadoran community members say Romero guides them as new fights are waged in Los Angeles against racism and police brutality.

This week, thousands of people from the United States, Latin America and Europe, including Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, are expected to travel to El Salvador for events that will honor Romero, culminating in a Mass on Friday, the anniversary of his death.