Feast of Oscar Romero

"The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the rights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history."

"You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish."

On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of San Salvador was assassinated while presiding at Mass.

Christians around the world (including Episcopalians and other Anglicans), remember him and the thousands who were killed for their faith and commitment to human rights during the years of dictatorship and civil war in El Salvador, the country whose name means "The Savior."