The date of the beatification of Oscar Romero has been set: the ceremony will take place in San Salvador on 23 May. This was announced today, during his visit to El Salvador, Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, postulator of the cause of the archbishop martyr. They conclude like this, with the honours of the altars, the long and troubled course of the cause of canonization of the pastor killed "in hatred of the faith" on 24 March 1980 by the death squads linked to the regime, a process unblocked by Pope Francis.

It is significant that the official announcement of the day of the solemn celebration, which will be chaired by the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has been chosen on the eve of another anniversary: that of ​​the murder of Salvadoran Jesuit Rutilio Grande, which took place on 12 March 1977, three years before the death of Romero. Father Grande, killed along with two campesinos on his way to say Mass in a rural area, was the first victim of violent persecution. Also for the Jesuit priest, the cause of canonization is now in progress, instructed by the Salvadoran Diocese in early January. It is the intention of the Central American Church to lead this cause in parallel to that of Romero towards full recognition of holiness. The reason is this: the "close bond that unites them in a theological and pastoral perspective" because, as Monsignor Paglia says, "it is impossible to understand Romero without understanding Rutilio Grande". (Askanews)