Westminster J&P reports on Romero canonisation

'Decernimus' or 'We so decree', said Pope Francis, concluding the surprisingly simple ritual which added Oscar Romero, Pope Paul VI and five others to the canon of the saints of the Catholic Church on Sunday October 14th 2018. 70,000 people were in Rome to participate in the Mass and canonisation process. It was a great joy to take part in a pilgrimage organised by tour operator Anthony Coles and the Archbishop Romero Trust. Between 30 and 40 of us had attended the Caritas International Mass the day before, which was celebrated by Cardinal Tagle, president of Caritas Internationalis, with many bishops and priests from across the world, including Bishops John Arnold, Nicholas Hudson and John Rawsthorne from England and Wales.

We needed to be out on the road early next day, said our experienced organiser, who had also taken Romero Trust groups to El Salvador. The Canonisation Mass for seven candidates would begin at 10.15 on the Sunday, but we were on a coach at 6.45, heading for St Peter's Square while Rome was still dark. Once through airport-type security, we were told to race to the front, and though certainly not the first, we secured seats promising a wonderful view of the proceedings, then waited, and waited in the chilly morning air!

Julian Filochowski president of the Romero Trust, would be up on the steps of the Basilica, along with all the bishops and priests who would be concelebrating. My colleague, Westminster Justice and Peace Chair, Fr Joe Ryan, had brought his alb along specially for this privilege, of concelebrating with Pope Francis.

A kind of scrum was taking place at the entrance of each of the seating blocks, as friends tried to reunite with those who had saved them seats, while ushers attempted to limit entry. Clare Dixon, secretary of the Romero Trust and head of CAFOD's Central America desk for many years, had gone to Rome's BBC studios to speak on the Radio 4 Sunday programme about the event. She squeezed into our section near the front with great difficulty though still over an hour before the start. And finally a host of cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests took seats on the high forecourt , left of the high altar, while on the right were the state dignitaries - leaders and ambassadors: church and state symbolically separated. Promptly the ceremony began, with music and a recital of each saint's biography.

The Pope declared: "after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops we declare and define blessed Paul VI, Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez, Francis Spinelli, Vincent Romano, Mary Catherine Kasper, Nazaria Ignacia of St Teresa of Jesus March Mesa, and Nunzio Sulprizio to be Saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church."

The Mass followed, in Italian, Latin, Spanish and Greek, with prayers of intercession also in German and English, the high point of the celebration being, of course, the inclusion of the new saints in the Eucharistic prayer. As the Pope said: "All seven new saints, "in different contexts, put today's word into practice in their lives, without lukewarmness, without calculation, with the passion to risk everything and to leave it all behind."

Latin Americans undoubtedly represented a large component of the St Peter's Square crowds, there to celebrate 'Monsenor Romero de las Americas', but were a massive majority next day in the vast Vatican Audience Hall, where the canonisation of St Oscar Romero was marked with a Mass presided over by Cardinal Rosa Chavez of El Salvador. The tiny British presence included members of the Archbishop Romero Trust , CAFOD and Justice and Peace, but the overruling presence was Latin American, where all were singing well-known hymns, and learning new ones in honour of 'Monsenor'. The joyous atmosphere peaked in the late morning with the appearance of Pope Francis, who came down the main aisle shaking hands and greeting the crowds, who chanted, 'Viva Francisco, viva il Papa' and 'Francis, good shepherd, come to El Salvador'. Cameras of all sizes flashed, a modern sign of wanting to remember this significant moment. It was wonderful to be part of it.

Westminster Justice and Peace had visited the Sant'Egidio community earlier in the year in our Europe pilgrimage, so we had arranged to revisit this humble but astonishingly far-reaching community in Trastevere on our last day. San Bartolomeo church on the Isola Tiberia honours 'memory of women and men of the twentieth century, killed because they were Christians. This is not only the story of some courageous Christians, but of the martyrdom of a whole people. In our epoch (their leaflet continues) Christianity has gone back to being a religion of martyrs'.

On the altar of the Latin American martyrs, we saw the missal and stole of St Oscar Romero, and remembered that Pope Francis had worn his bloodstained cincture /girdle at the canonisation. This quiet moment brought us full circle to remember what had brought about the canonisation in the first place: a reversal of values: the first shall be last, and the last first.

In this spirit we went on to the Sant'Egidio soup kitchen close by, where over 50 volunteers a day serve meals to up to 700 homeless men and women from the Roman streets. Carlo who welcomed us has a special responsibility for the homeless around St Peter's Square. He explained that Pope Francis had created a Cardinal specially for the poor of Rome, who has facilitated a regular meal for homeless people in the Vatican. At one of these meals the Pope just 'dropped in', asking Carlo to introduce him to the guests.

As we left the drop-in centre, a group of young Salvadoreans had gathered outside, members of a Sant'Egidio youth group from San Salvador, in Rome for the canonisation. The spirit of St Oscar Romero has born, and continues to bear, so much fruit.

Barbara Kentish
Westminster Justice and Peace
October 19th 2018