Saint Oscar Romero: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr

by Kerry Walters

“Carry on, always seeking truth, justice, peace, and freedom. Christ will give us strength so that we won’t lose heart along the way.”
 – Saint Oscar Romero

This new biography by Kerry Walters offers an inspiring look at St. Óscar’s life, starting in childhood and then tracing his evolution from a conscientious but unremarkable (and at times curmudgeonly) priest to a heroic prophet and—finally—a martyr, gunned down in 1980 while celebrating mass.

The “revolution of Christ’s love” that so moved St. Oscar is as relevant to our own lives as it was to an El Salvador torn by civil motivated by the power of love instead of arms; seeking not the overthrow but the conversion of society; and asserting that all people are equally beloved by God and equally deserving of the world’s resources.

Only God could have foreseen that a timid, introverted, and very traditional Salvadoran priest—one with an unsavory reputation as the lackey of rightwing politicians and wealthy landowners—would go on to become the hero of liberation theology.

And yet, largely thanks to the 1989 biopic starring Raul Julia, many people are familiar with the extraordinary journey of Oscar Romero. The priest, prophet, and martyr canonized by Pope Francis in October, 2018, has become a symbol for our a Christian hero who dared all, risked all, and sacrificed all for the sake of love.

Liberation theology’s emergence in the late 1960s sparked a fresh way of reading the gospels and a new focus for evangelization—one that emphasized material as well as spiritual salvation and sought to empower victims of poverty and injustice. Initially, Romero worried that advocates of liberation theology, zealous as they were to redress injustice, fixated on political and economic activism at the expense of dedication to Christ.

Then came 1977 and the tragedy that changed the trajectory of Romero’s life. With the government-sanctioned murder of his friend Rutilio Grande, a Jesuit who lived and worked with campesinos, something that had been stirring inside his heart finally clicked.
 

Genres: Religion, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2018

Reviews

[Grant McGurn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contained the depth that I was looking for with regards to Saint Oscar Romero. Powerful.

[Tom Canuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good biography on Saint Oscar Romero! It was a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend it!

[Leslie Moellering · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this look into the life of St Oscar Romero, a bishop and martyr I previously knew nothing about. He led a hard life and made hard choices and sometimes had to learn from his own mistakes.

[Tim Timberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a good introduction to St. Oscar Romero for me. The author effectively shows both the dramatic change in Romero's actions, and his deep roots in caring for the marginalized. However, I wish the book said more about his legacy, both in Latin America and the larger Catholic Church.

[Esther C.Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A saint in the making

This biography of Archbishop Romero really showed the growth of a former timid shy man to an emboldened leader for his people, the under privileged. It wasn’t his intention to rise to such heights but once he did he began to see the reality of his position, how he could either use it to enrich himself amongst the elite or to help the underprivileged. Fortunately he sought to help those that needed it the most. He realized the meaning of “What is to gain the world but lose your soul.” Well written and main point was made.

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Saint Oscar Romero, Pastor, Prophet and Martyr": A real life account of the struggles of a modern day martyr. The biography contains the Priest's strengths, his struggles to provide sanctity in the war torn country of El Salvador from his early days to his role as Archbishop to his subsequent martyrdom. A gripping story of this modern day Saint fighting for his people. An indepth look at the national conflict of El Salvador in 1970s and 1980s.

[John Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can still remember the movie about St Oscar Romero that we watched during our last year in high school. It was something that shook me and disturbed me, but in a good way. I have never seen how much a person can be that brave amidst such violence in one’s country. I have never seen a Christian that brave to stand by his beliefs and values and morals like St Oscar Romero did in that film. He was truly a martyr that went through what the people of God was going through, and he suffered with them and even died “with” or like them.

My reading of this biography complements that film as I got to know fully what kind of person he was and how his life took shape in the way that a Christian responds to the needs of God’s people.

This biography about St Romero was a good read for me. It’s straight forward even if it has to give background stories of what was happening in El Salvador or in the inner world of St Romero. I didn’t feel that it went in circles describing his life nor any random event was mentioned at any point in its narration. It’s well written and is highly recommended to someone wanting to know about St Oscar Romero’s life.

[Carlos Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una obra corta, y como cualquier biografía, el autor se toma la libertad de interpretar varios aspectos de la vida del biografiado. En esta obra, el autor interpreta la vida de Monseñor Romero como una conversión que va del tradicionalismo católico, definido erróneamente como cristianismo desencarnado, a abrazar la teología de la liberación, de inspiración marxista, muy común en aquellos tiempos. No me parece que haga mucha justicia a la personalidad de Monseñor Romero, pero le doy cuatro estrellas porque relata la situación política y social, además de los eventos más significativos en la vida del biogragiado.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting to read this now in light of the chaos in Venezuela. It is a good reminder that judgments from afar can be desperately wrong, and that meddling in the affairs of other countries can cause untold suffering. Above all, it’s a look at an ordinary man who allowed himself to be transformed by the suffering of his people. I found it inspiring.

[Elise Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dude was seriously inspirational.