BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO,
MAY 23, 2015
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| Images courtesy San Salvador Archdiocese and TvCA39 |
The diocesan
phase of the cause of canonization of Father Rutilio Grande, SJ, who is shaping
up to become the next Salvadoran martyr to be recognized by the Church as such
and raised to the altars, was closed with a formal ceremony at 10 am on Tuesday
Aug. 16 in the Archdiocese of San Salvador. Father Grande’s canonization process
now goes to Rome, where it will be handled by the Jesuit order.
The closing
ceremony was held before high ranking members of the Salvadoran Church hierarchy,
including San Salvador Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas, Apostolic Nuncio Leon
Kalenga, several bishops and other clergy and members of society, including the
Basque-Salvadoran Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino. At the beginning of the
ceremony, Msgr. Rafael Urrutia, the priest who spearheaded the process, said
the Church had planned to finish the investigation last November, but the
serendipitous discovery of testifying witnesses for the cause in California after
the intervention of the now-Bishop of Santiago de Maria, Msgr. William Iraheta,
made it necessary to postpone the date of the cause’s conclusion.
The ceremony which
included the reading aloud of various transmittal letters contained in the documentation
that will be sent to Rome highlighted the dramatic effects of the post war period,
which have hindered the investigation into the assassination of the priest by
powerful interests in the country. Both the designated judge, Fr Hector
Figueroa, as well as the promoter of justice, Fr. Efrain Villalobos, asserted
that it was difficult to find testifying witnesses amongst the laity of the Aguilares
region, where the martyred priest ministered among the unprotected peasants of
the largely agricultural sector, because they are still fearful.
One of the highlights
of the ceremony was the appointment of Rev. Edwin Henriquez as conveyor of the
cause to Rome. Henriquez is a diocesan priest who advises the archbishopric in
communications issues and has been second vice-postulator of the cause. It will
be Henriquez’ job to turn over the documentation to Father Anton Witwer,
Postulator General for the Jesuits. During the ceremony, attorney Nancy Beatriz
Henriquez, one of the notaries of the process, carefully sealed the packets of
documents to be sent.
Despite the
difficulties, the diocesan process has progressed quickly. The opening of the process
was announced
by Archbishop Escobar in March 2014. In September of the following year, it was
revealed
that the Jesuits would take charge of the case, signaling an interest in the
case at the level of the global church. This past July, Archbishop Vincenzo
Paglia, postulator of the Romero cause, commented on the possibility of a fast
track for the Jesuit: “we hope that the
process of Fr. Rutilio Grande will move much faster.”
If so, El
Salvador may soon have another Blessed.
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