Archbishop Oscar Romero

Who is Oscar Romero, assassinated in 1980 while saying mass, beatified by Pope Francis in 2015, a man Latin Americans already claim as Saint Romero of America? This biography, a Romero primer, sets out to answer this question for the general public ages fifteen up--readers who may know little about El Salvador, Romero's homeland, or the Roman Catholic Church. Based on interviews with some of Romero's seminary mates and siblings, this title reveals not-yet-published information to fill gaps in Romero's first twenty-five years of life. One chapter explores the archbishop's surprising relationship with misguided young adults. The author takes painstaking effort to convey the context in which this old-school cleric emerged as an audacious voice of the voiceless. That he did so is remarkable; Vatican officials named him archbishop confident he would remain silent, rein in activism, and ruffle no status-quo feathers. How and why Romero defied expectations ranks among the most compelling faith stories of the late twentieth century. Jose Inocencio Alas honors this work with a foreword. A former priest and colleague of Romero who narrowly survived abduction and torture by El Salvador's notorious National Guard, Alas has exclaimed, I hope just about everyone in the world reads this book.Read less