March 12, 1977: Martyred Aug. 16, 2016: Local canonization process ceremonially closed Feb. 22, 2020: Martyrdom formally recognized
Fr. Rutilio Grande, SJ July 5, 1928: Born July 30, 1959: Ordained
Manuel Solorzano 1905: Born
Nelson Rutilio Lemus Nov. 10, 1960: Born
WASHINGTON
(CNS) — As the Catholic Church in El Salvador declared a jubilee year for its
martyrs, whispers were already circulating, hinting at the possibility that the
country would receive news from Rome of several new beatified Salvadorans this
year.
The whispers began with a poster circulated in early January on the occasion of the World Day of Peace, featuring St. Óscar Romero, Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande and Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto. Was this a hint, some speculated, about an upcoming beatification of the Franciscan and the Jesuit this year?
On
Feb. 22, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had recognized the martyrdom
of Fr. Grande and two companions, clearing the way for their beatification.
There’s also the hope that this year, too, will bring about the declaration of
martyrdom for Fr. Spessotto, an Italian who lived for decades in El Salvador
and was killed in 1980 after denouncing government injustices against the
country’s poor and vulnerable.
Like
St. Romero and Fr. Grande, killed for the same type of reasons — siding with
the poor and demanding their rights be respected — the expectation is that Fr.
Spessotto, too, will be declared a martyr. If that comes to fruition, El
Salvador could celebrate four beatifications this year.
“Martyrdom
is the greatest testimony of faith, because it faithfully reproduces Christ,
giving his life so that others can have life in abundance,” the episcopal conference of El
Salvador said in announcing a Jubilee Year of the Martyrs, which was set
to begin with the observance of the 43rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Fr.
Grande and his companions March 12.
Servant of God Fr. Cosme Spessotto, OFM
Jan. 28, 1923: Born March 19, 1944: Professed Solemn Vows June 27, 1948: Ordained to the priesthood April 4, 1950: Arrived in El Salvador as a missionary June 14, 1980: Assassinated July 17, 1999: Named Servant of God
It
was to be followed by several 40th anniversary observations, including the
martyrdom of St. Romero March 24, more than 650 civilians killed in a massacre
at the Sumpul River May 14, Fr. Spessotto’s killing July 31 and the
assassination of four U.S. Catholic Churchwomen — two Maryknoll missionaries
who served in the area of Chalatenango, in northern El Salvador, raped and
assassinated Dec. 2, 1980, along with another U.S. nun and a lay missionary.
All were killed during the 12-year civil war in El Salvador, from 1980 until
1992, a conflict produced by an environment of great socioeconomic disparity
between the country’s rich and poor, one which many members of the Catholic
Church denounced.
It’s
unclear where the official events stand in light of recent developments of the
coronavirus pandemic. Official observations for Fr. Grande’s martyrdom were Fr.
due to the Church’s precautions taken to prevent the spread of the virus, but
hundreds still turned out to mark the day. At that time, on March 12, El
Salvador had registered no cases of COVID-19.
The
Vatican has not yet given a date nor place for the beatification ceremony for Fr.
Grande and his companions, though before the pandemic, Archbishop José Luis Escobar
Alas of San Salvador speculated that it would be a matter of months.
“Our martyrs intercede for us,” the
Salvadoran bishops said in a joint statement announcing the jubilee. “They gave
their lives and are with us in our pilgrimage of faith.”
Until
the canonization of St. Romero in 2018, there were no official Salvadoran
saints, though many Salvadorans throughout the decades, since the 1980 killing
of St. Romero, prayed for his intercession and long considered him a holy
person. Today, the Archdiocese of San Salvador even boasts a canonization
office at its headquarters. The archdiocese also has promoted an August
pilgrimage to Ciudad Barrios, the birthplace of St. Romero; the pilgrimage
grows in attendance each year.
Though
not as well-known as St. Romero, Fr. Grande, too, has long had a following of
his own. When Archbishop Escobar held a news conference in late February to
answer questions about events following the Jesuit’s declaration of martyrdom,
he told the media that no doubt many have already attributed miracles to the
heavenly intercession of Fr. Grande.
Pope
Francis, a fan of the Salvadoran Jesuit, has said that Fr. Grande’s first “miracle”
was St. Romero, believed to have undergone a form of conversion to more boldly
defend the poor after seeing the bullet-ridden body of Fr. Grande, along with
an elderly parishioner and a teenager, after they were fired upon on the way to
a novena for St. Joseph in 1977.
Fr.
Grande was ostracized, even by the Church in El Salvador, for defending the
rural poor masses of the area where he served from 1970 until his death. But
his denouncement of injustice became a model followed not just by St. Romero,
who later was called “the voice of the voiceless,” but particularly by
Catholics in El Salvador who continued calling out violations against civilians
until they, too, were silenced.
But
40 years later, the bishops of El Salvador hope those martyrs’ voices become
louder than ever, which is what’s behind highlighting their lives in this
jubilee year.
To
follow in the footsteps of the martyrs’ calls for justice, the bishops, too,
called out what they see as modern injustices in El Salvador today.
In
their letter announcing the jubilee year, they said they asked the general
assembly for an authentic law of reconciliation, one to serve those with
grievances or loved ones killed during El Salvador’s civil conflict that
officially began in 1980; for a “general water law,” one against privatization
of water and guaranteeing it as a public good; they also called for a new
pension system for retirees and expressed solidarity for migrants and those who
are victims in one form or another: “We pray for them and advocate for their
rights to be respected.”