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| Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, in El Salvador, 2005. El Diario de Hoy. |
We may learn
the date for the beatification of Archbishop Óscar A. Romero in the coming days. The Vatican official in charge of his
beatification (photo) tweeted from Rome Thursday: “This
Sunday I leave for El Salvador to deliver a report as Postulator of the Cause
of Archbishop Romero.” [Update:] On Sunday, the San Salvador Church’s diocesan weekly promised that Paglia would bring “bombshell” news; the Archdiocese has scheduled a press conference with Paglia for Wednesday afternoon.
In a video
message, San Salvador Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas appeared to confirm
that the purpose of the trip by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia will be to announce
the date, saying that it could be announced by a Vatican envoy sent to deliver
the news in El Salvador. The archbishop revealed
that the Salvadoran Church is expecting a beatification ceremony of major proportions, admitting that crowds could spill
well beyond the Divine Savior Plaza where the ceremony will be
celebrated. “It is true that we do not have a place large enough to welcome all the
people who we think will come,” said the Archbishop: “we don’t have a place that can welcome a million, or half a million
people.”
Archbishop
Escobar explained that Salvadoran authorities selected the Divine Savior Plaza
both for its symbolism (The Divine Savior or, in Spanish, “El Salvador del Mundo,” is the country’s patron) and because the
area includes various spaces that could accommodate spill-over crowds, including
a professional soccer stadium and a basketball arena. Escobar stated that officials are looking
into setting up giant screens to beam the ceremony around the city: “The heart of the city would become the stage
for the beatification of Archbishop Romero.”
He noted that
a major hospital is in the vicinity to deal with any medical needs, and said
that priests would be stationed throughout the city to distribute communion. Fr.
Edwin Henríquez, a diocesan priest familiar with the planning, said in a radio
interview that some 300 bishops are expected to attend the beatification,
consistent with the scale envisioned by Escobar. The Salvadoran Church will be having a
collection to help defray costs on Sunday March 22nd.
Meanwhile,
commemorative events for Romero continue to be added to the calendar. Los Angeles became the latest big city to
announce an event. Archbishop José Gómez
will lead a commemorative Mass at Our Lady of Angels Cathedral on Sunday March
22nd.
Super Martyrio will continue to monitor developments
and provide an update every Friday regarding plans for the beatification, as
well as for commemorations of the anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s martyrdom
on March 24.
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