CHARLOTTE — Members of the Salvadoran community, Latino leaders and church organizations gathered Oct. 14 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to honor the life and sacrifice of Archbishop Oscar Romero, as well as to give thanks for his canonization.
The Mass was celebrated by Vincentian Father Gregory Gay, parochial vicar, and visiting priest Father Hugo Medellín.
Eduardo Bernal, Hispanic Ministry coordinator in Charlotte and a native of El Salvador, reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Mk 10:17-30), commending St. Oscar Romero for taking to heart the teachings of Jesus and giving up all that he had to attain eternal life. The late archbishop followed the Lord in ministering to the poor and others persecuted during El Salvador’s civil war – even sacrificing his own life while speaking up against the rampant violence.
After Mass an educational program was held to share information about the new saint and to showcase testimonies of several members of the Salvadoran community who have personal memories of him.
Ana Miriam Carpio, organizer of the event and executive director of UNISAL, a Salvadoran organization in Charlotte, welcomed Eduardo and Rosa Ramírez, a couple who received the grace of being married by St. Oscar Romero when they both lived in San Roque, Zacamil, a rural area in El Salvador.
The couple recounted the horrors they lived through during the civil war that caused approximately 75,000 deaths and disappearances between 1980 and 1992. They also recalled the blessing of St. Oscar Romero’s presence and ministry as an advocate for the poor and oppressed in El Salvador.
Oscar Carranza, who knew St. Oscar Romero at the time he was studying to be a priest in El Salvador, recalled that many Catholic leaders thought the late archbishop was “a subversive, a ‘red’ bishop, a communist, and all the other false judgments,” but history has shown the opposite.
“God has written it with the blood of our Salvadoran people,” Carranza said.
Father Medellín speculated that very soon churches with Salvadoran communities “will surely include a space for the veneration of St. Oscar Romero.” At Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, for example, a room has been named in his honor.
— César Hurtado, Hispanic Reporter