“A milquetoast kind of guy” is not the usual description of a saint, but in the case of Blessed Óscar Romero of El Salvador, it was his starting point as a Catholic priest in El Salvador. He was appointed bishop in 1974 and three years later became the Archbishop of San Salvador — a choice made with the assumption that he would lay low and cause no trouble. But when he was shot while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980, it was revenge for his challenges to the government during the country’s 12-year civil war that had just begun between leftist guerrillas and the dictatorial, U.S.-armed government.

There was violence on both sides. Many priests were killed, and some had even taken up arms against Romero’s warnings not to. The archbishop was outspoken and preached peace, often to the chagrin of both sides. He made a point of serving everyone regardless of ethnic class or income, but it was his condemnation against injustices and brutality of the right-wing military regime that marked him for death. It’s easy to love the poor, but when given a title and treated as an elite, it takes selfless courage to defend them.

In a homily the day before his assassination, Romero called for soldiers to end the violence. “In the name of this suffering people, whose cries rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beseech you, I beg you, I order you, in the name of God, stop the repression,” he said.

Miracle

When Romero was beatified in San Salvador on May 23, 2015, it drew an estimated 250,000 people and is believed to be the largest religious gathering ever held in Central America. The miracle approved for his canonization this past March 6 was the healing of a 35-year-old Salvadoran woman named Celia. In 2015 her husband prayed for the intercession of Blessed Óscar Romero when all seemed hopeless.

Cecilia, gave birth in August 2015 and was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome, a life-threatening condition that affects some pregnant women and damages the liver. Her husband was told by a doctor there was nothing left to do, and she would die, so the husband should pray.

When the husband opened a Bible given to him by his grandmother, there was a card with Blessed Romero’s image in it, so he prayed for Romero’s intercession. Cecilia had slipped into a coma but awoke on Sept. 10 and made a full recovery.

Blessed Romero was canonized Oct. 14 along with six others, including Bl. Pope Paul VI, the pope who promulgated Humanae Vitae.