Óscar Romero became the first Salvadoran saint when he was canonized in 2018. Pope Francis canonized him in Rome on 14 October 2018, recognizing the archbishop’s witness and martyrdom.
Romero was born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador, in 1917 and was ordained a priest in 1942. He became archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, during a period of severe political violence and conflict.
He publicly denounced killings, disappearances, torture, and injustice, while calling for respect for human rights and the dignity of the poor. On 24 March 1980, an assassin killed him while he celebrated Mass at a hospital chapel in San Salvador.
Romero was beatified in San Salvador in 2015 and canonized three years later. He is widely known as Saint Óscar Romero or Saint Romero of the Americas. Rutilio Grande, a fellow Salvadoran priest, influenced Romero but was not the archbishop canonized in 2018.