As we celebrate this 25th anniversary of Archbishop Romero's
martyrdom in grand style, we would be wise to remember the subdued
first few anniversaries in war-time El Salvador, as the death toll
of that conflict ascended toward 75,000 dead. Of course, the
assassination itself was the closest to a triggering event that
unleashed the blood bath, because it showed the resistance that
peaceful opposition, such as that favored by Archbishop Romero,
would only incite brutality and oppression as a response. Pope John
Paul II denounced the murder as "sacrilegious" and an attack on "the
dignity of man." The Pope's telegram of condolence to the
Salvadoran Bishops' Conference noted that Romero was killed at the
altar. In Canterbury, England, Robert Runcie was about to take
office as Archbishop of Canterbury, and he remembered Archbishop
Romero in his morning prayers before being installed. His
predecessor, St. Thomas à-Beckett, had been the last archbishop
killed at the altar, some 800 years before. (The Associated
Press, "Pope Shocked by Romero Assassination," March 25, 1980.)

Two years later, when the Pope visited Canterbury in May 1982, one
of the most important religious events in Britain since it turned
away from Catholicism in the 16th century, John Paul and the
Archbishop of Canterbury knelt and prayed together at the spot where
St. Thomas was slain in 1170 for defending the medieval Catholic
Church against King Henry II. In one of the most poignant moments
of the service in Canterbury Cathedral, leaders of both churches lit
candles in a new chapel dedicated to 20th century martyrs, including
Archbishop Romero, for whom the Archbishop of Canterbury himself lit
a candle, in the Pope's presence, and surrounded by prelates of both
churches. (The Washington Post, "Pope Joins Pilgrimage To Pray at
Canterbury," May 30, 1982.)

In El Salvador, the war and government intimidation of human rights
workers and Church activism prevented any open demonstrations or
commemorations of the anniversary. The first anniversary, in 1981,
was overshadowed by grim developments, as the bodies of 38 people
were found alongside El Salvador's streets and roads and the
government announced search and destroy sweeps by the Army in the
north and east of the Central American nation. In a quiet ceremony
at the Divine Providence Chapel where Romero was slain, Father Jesus
Delgado remarded, "This place has been sanctified by the blood of a
witness of Christ. Monsignor Romero sought to become a saint by way
of charity and God gave him the way to sainthood through
martyrdom." At that early moment, whispers of canonization were
already being heard. (The Associated Press, "38 Bodies Found as
Leftists, Church Mark Assassination Anniversary," March 25, 1981.)

According to Jon Sobrino, the canonization drive picked up impetus
after John Paul himself visited Archbishop Romero's grave and knelt
to pray there during his war-time visit to El Salvador in
1983. "Today, it is practically impossible to proceed as though
Archbishop Romero never existed, after John Paul prayed, kneeling,
over his grave," Father Sobrino has said. "The Pope's position
seems to us to have been decisive as a sine qua non condition for
the [canonization] process to be initiated and pursued." ECA
Commentaries, UCA. When the Pope referred to Archbishop Romero as
a "zealous pastor," a "good shepherd" and even a "martyr,"
Sandinista Radio was quick to proclaim Romero their saint, via "
canonization … by popular acclaim." (The British Broadcasting
Corporation, "Nicaraguan comment on Pope's remarks about Archbishop
Romero," March 10, 1983.)

Romero's popularity with the radical left would prove to be a
liability, particularly when Pope John Paul distanced himself
dramatically from politically active priests in Nicaragua's
Sandinista government. But, perhaps because of the dramatic aspect
of Romero's story, he enjoyed mainstream acclaim, and was celebrated
on stage, television and on the big screen. René Enríquez played
Archbishop Romero in the 1983 made-for-TV movie "Choices of the
Heart," in which Melissa Gilbert played Jean Donovan. In March
1986, Nicholas Patricca's play "The Fifth Sun," based on the Romero
assassination, premiered at the Ethnic Theater, in Washington.
(Wayne Johnson, "Political Murder Inspires 'Fifth Sun'," The Seattle
Times, March 9, 1986). That same year, José Carlos Ruiz played
Archbishop Romero -- this time, on the big screen -- in Oliver
Stone's "Salvador." Finally, on August 25, 1989, the Archbishop
came to the big screen as the central character in the Paulist
Pictures feature release, "Romero," starring Raul Julia.

By the time the tenth anniversary of the Romero assassination came
around, accompanied by world condemnation of the Massacre of the
Jesuit Martyrs at Central America University in November 1989, and
after a decade of war, Salvadorans were ready to mark the
anniversary in a larger way. On March 12, 1990, on the anniversary
of the assassination of Rutilio Grande, Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez
announced that the Salvadoran Church would launch a diocesan process
in a canonization drive. (Los Angeles Times, "Slain archbishop
proposed as saint," March 12, 1990.) Two days later, an Illinois
elementary school was named after Romero, which would lead to a
string of institutions taking on the martyr's name. (Melita Marie
Garza, Chicago Tribune, " School will be named for slain
archbishop," March 14, 1990.)

Thousands turned out for the tenth anniversary memorial mass, which
was attended by visitors from Europe and the United States -- among
them, three U.S. bishops, including Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles,
and bishops from the Vatican, several European nations, Guatemala
and Brazil. The Pope sent a message stating that the Pontiff "joins
the service in spirit and raises a prayer that the sacrifice of that
pastor became a new call to reconciliation and forgiveness." No one
from the Salvadoran government of Alfredo Cristiani attended,
continuing the tradition of the official cold shoulder from the
ARENA party to the most world's favorite Salvadoran. In San
Francisco, 10,000 crowded U.N. Plaza in front of City Hall to listen
to speeches in English and Spanish and to hear performances by
singers Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne. There
was also a similar gathering in Washington, D.C. (San Francisco
Examiner, "Slain Salvadoran prelate memorialized: Rally in S.F.
joins others marking 10th anniversary of his assassination," Sunday,
March 25, 1990.)

By the time of the fifteenth anniversary in 1995, the Salvadoran
archdiocese had concluded its local phase of the canonization
investigation and was turning over materials to the Congregation for
the Causes of Saints. Visitors from all over the world swarmed in
San Salvador, including the celebrated Bishop of Chiapas, Mexico,
Msgr. Samuel Ruiz, who was undergoing a social crisis similar to
that of Romero. (El Sol de Texas, "Salvadoran Catholic Church
advances in canonization of assassinated archbishop," March 23,
1995.) In July 1998, a statute of Archbishop Romero was added to
the statuary of 20th Century Martyrs at Westminster Abbey, in
London. By the time the 20th anniversary came about, in March 2000,
the commemoration of Archbishop Romero's martyrdom had reached the
proportions of a world-wide event:

• An interfaith procession with pictures of different
communities' martyrs was held in San Francisco.
• Cultural activities, a commemoration and mass were held in
Washington, D.C.
• The Hispanic Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York
celebrated a special Mass, with some five hundred attendees.
• A vigil was held at the John F. Kennedy Memorial, in Dallas,
Texas.
• A scholarship was inaugurated at Boston College, in
Massachusetts.
• A day of study and reflection was observed by the
Theological Union students of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
• There was a Way of the Cross observed in Nicaragua.
• There were Masses, cultural expositions, and a vigil, in
Toronto, Canada.
• There was a retreat, dinner and reflection in Turin, Italy.
• The U.K.'s bishops held a special Mass in Perth, Nova
Scotia, surrounding a bishop who had known Romero.
• There was a Eucharistic celebration in Basque country, in
Spain.
• There was a mass, speeches, and a procession in Uppsala,
Switzerland.
• There was a march in front of the Cathedral of Vienna, and
various other activities in Austria.
• There was a commemoration in Camberwell, Australia.
• There were celebrations all over L.A.

And, of course, there was an entire "Little Holy Week" observed in
San Salvador, wherein scores of international delegations descended
on the capital, visited the sites of the martyrs, toured the cities
of the poor, and turned out in a massive, 100,000-strong vigil at
Divine Savior Square and the Metropolitan Cathedral on the Big Day.
(The Guardian.) Delegations came from all over the United States,
Germany, Argentina, Australia, Spain, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil,
Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Guatemala, Honduras,
Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, South Africa,
Switzerland, Sweden, Uruguay and Venezuela. Foreign visitors
included Bishop Samuel Ruiz, Dom Pedro Casaldaliga, and Cardinal
Roger Mahony, who said the open air mass, and hundreds of clergy
from various religions, and from all over the world.

This twenty-fifth anniversary promises to be even larger than that.