DECREE
CALLING FOR A JUBILEE YEAR ON OCCASION OF THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE
BIRTH OF BLESSED OSCAR ARNULFO ROMERO GALDAMEZ
We, Jose Luis Escobar Alas, by the grace of God and the goodness of the
Holy See, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, El
Salvador, in Central America.
WHEREAS:
Our diocese, created by Pope Gregory XVI in 1842, was raised by Pope
Pius X to the dignity of Metropolitan Archdiocese in 1913; and since its
creation, each of the nine appointed Bishops have left their deep spiritual imprint
on the souls of the faithful, standing out in a very special way, the imprint made
by the testimony of faith of Blessed Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez,
bishop and martyr, who freely accepted death for the salvation of the world, imitating
Christ in the shedding of his blood as a supreme act of love.
Today, August 15, 2016, we arrived at the "Centenary of his Birth,"
which is an occasion to celebrate and reflect on the testimony of Christian
faith and of a good shepherd of our Bishop and Martyr, since it is a great
wealth and a special force that inspires us to also live up to the demands of
our time according to our faith, following in the footsteps of Christ who gave
his life to save us.
THEREFORE:
As we begin today the 100th year of the birth of Blessed Archbishop
Oscar Romero, Bishop and Martyr; we begin our year-long celebration—from August
15, 2016 to August 15, 2017—the CENTENARY OF HIS BIRTH. This shall be a jubilee
year in which we must feel called to an authentic and renewed conversion to the
Lord, the only Savior of the world.
To start this great jubilee celebration, the Bishops of El Salvador,
have gathered today August 15 at the San Salvador Cathedral, to open the celebration
of this Jubilee Year of the Centenary of the birth of Monsignor Romero with a
solemn Eucharist.
We are all invited in our parishes—priests and faithful—to strengthen
the study and meditation of the life, thought and work of Archbishop Romero, to
participate with greater enthusiasm in the sacramental life of our Church,
especially the Sunday Eucharist that celebrates the Resurrection of the Lord,
bread of eternal life and drink of salvation. We invite all to make pilgrimages
to the places that are steeped in the footsteps of the Blessed: his tomb in the
Metropolitan Cathedral, the Chapel of the Divine Providence Hospital and the
small apartment where he lived; his hometown Ciudad Barrios. There, we can pray
for the intentions of Pope Francis and the much longed-for peace in our
country; we also urge the people of God to favor the Cult of our Blessed by
various activities designed to pursue this purpose.
Thus, in use of our ordinary power conferred under and for the purposes
of Canon 381 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law, “WE CALL A JUBILEE YEAR FOR THE CENTENNIAL OF THE BIRTH OF BLESSED ARCHBISHOP
OSCAR ARNULFO ROMERO, Bishop and Martyr”
Given in the Archdiocese of San Salvador, on the Solemnity of Our Lady
of the Assumption, on August 15, 2016.
BY HIS MANDATE:
Msgr. Rafael Edgardo
Urrutia H.
Chancellor of the Archdiocese
Msgr. Jose Luis Escobar Alas
Archbishop of San Salvador
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