Pope approves martyrdom of Oscar Romero





Pope Francis has approved a decree that officially declares Msgr. Oscar Romero as a martyr.

In the document, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints states that the Salvadorian Archbishop was killed because of hate towards the Catholic faith.

With this approval, Msgr. Romero can be beatified without the need of a miracle attributed to him.

The late Archbishop was killed in El Salvador on March 24th, 1980 while celebrating Mass in a hospital. During the height of the country's ten year civil war he defended the poor and needy.

On his flight back from South Korea, the Pope announced that Romero's beatification process had been unblocked. It was stalled for many years, as the Vatican investigated if he was killed for political reasons or for preaching the Catholic faith.

The next step will be for Pope Francis to announce a beatification date for Msgr. Oscar Romero.

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