Friday, March 13, 2015

Romero beatification update #9


 
Happy anniversary, Pope Francis!

This week, the pieces are finally falling into place regarding Archbishop Romero celebrations this year, with the news that the Salvadoran martyr will be beatified at 10:00 a.m. (El Salvador time) on Saturday, May 23rd—on the Vigil of Pentecost. [Story here.]

The news came during a whirlwind week in El Salvador, marked by images like the picture above, of the President of the Pontifical Commission on the Family kneeling alongside peasants in a modest chapel in an existential outskirt of San Salvador.  Buried here is Fr. Rutilio Grande, assassinated in a wave of church repression in 1977, whose anniversary commemorations Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia came to celebrate, along with numerous bishops.  [Sermon video-in Spanish and Italian.]  The Church has launched a beatification cause for the fallen priest, whose name is known to Pope Francis and was dear to Archbishop Romero.

More on the beatification in the weeks to come.  For now, be sure to check out the new Beatificación Monseñor Romero Facebook page, and the likewise new @MonsRomeroBeato Twitter account.  Both are operated by the San Salvador Archdiocese Canonization Office and promise to offer the latest, official information (in Spanish).  Additionally, TVCA, the television channel of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, will be the official channel for the transmission of the Mass of beatification of Archbishop Romero and will also transmit events before and during the beatification. 

Of course, you can also check back here for updated information in English, and to have a look at our new beatification countdown app to see how many days are left till the “Blessed” Day (71 days, or roughly 10 weeks, today).   You are welcome to check out the Super Martyrio Facebook page, of course, which reposts notable articles, essays, and other information, and our Twitter account, @SuperMartyrio, which tweets out alerts on breaking news.  For all things relating to El Salvador, if you plan to head down or just want to follow developments, I recommend Tim’s El Salvador Blog.

Finally, Fundación Romero has also announced its activities in San Salvador to commemorate the XXXV Anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s Martyrdom later this month. Their detailed calendar is reproduced below. 
 
 Read last week’s update here.

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