Born August 15, 1917
Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador
Died March 24, 1980
San Salvador, El Salvador

Former Archbishop of San Salvador and human rights activist

Oscar Romero was a martyr for the causes of social justice, human rights, and peace. He was assassinated for his willingness to speak out against the intimidation and killings of civilians by the Salvadoran armed forces. Romero’s selfless crusade earned him the love and admiration of El Salvador’s poor majority. Romero’s assassination, which was later revealed to have been ordered by a high-ranking official of the Salvadoran government, focused world attention on the tiny, war-torn Central American republic.

Grows up in remote village

Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdamez was born on August 15, 1917, in the village of Ciudad Barrios. His hometown was in the mountainous province of San Miguel, in the northeast of El Salvador. Romero was one of eight...