Two USC alumni attend Archbishop Oscar Romero canonization ceremony

When Edwin Juarez Rosales and Sergio Avelar attended the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador in 2015, they were overwhelmed. The Salvadoran Catholic advocate for human rights would become a saint within their lifetime.

Three years later, just as they had hoped, Pope Francis canonized Romero, drawing thousands of Catholics and Salvadorans to Vatican City — Juarez and Avelar among them. At 4 a.m. on Oct. 14, the morning of the canonization, the two USC alumni lined up outside St. Peter’s Square in anticipation of the moment when Romero, Pope Paul VI and five others would officially be elevated to sainthood.

“For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life…” Pope Francis said in Latin as he recited the canonization formula and addressed the tens of thousands who gathered in St. Peter’s Square later that morning.

Juarez and Avelar stood in white and blue among the crowd, overcome by prayer and emotion as they heard Romero’s story recounted and reflected on the life of the martyr who was shot in 1980 by the military government while giving mass in San Salvador.

During his life, Romero advocated for the people of El Salvador. He stood against the violence in his country and denounced the persecution of those around him, despite fear for his safety. Following his death and years of stalling, Romero is now a saint, 38 years later.

“There’s always a moment in which it hits you — that you are there at this historical place in this moment in history that will not repeat,” Juarez said. “I mean, the first saint from my country was being proclaimed and acknowledged as someone that the whole world should look up to.”

Both Juarez and Avelar grew up learning about Romero and his teachings. Juarez’s parents attended his funeral mass in 1980 and encountered the vocation of social justice through his homilies and actions, Juarez said. As Salvadoran Catholics, both Juarez and Avelar consider Romero part of their identity.

“Being [at the canonization, there’s] this sense of pride that, to be honest, you don’t always feel as an immigrant in the United States from El Salvador,” said Juarez, who came to the U.S. from El Salvador at age 18. “My country is not on the news for these kinds of things … being there for something that is just good … We can say, yes, this guy — he’s also from El Salvador just like me. He’s receiving the highest honor a person can receive.”

Juarez and Avelar began searching for flights immediately after the Vatican announced the canonization in May. Months later, they arrived in Rome from Los Angeles the Saturday afternoon before the canonization. Throughout Rome, rosaries, stamps, magnets and other trinkets imprinted with the face of Romero lined the streets and shops, Avelar said.

“I think this brings a lot of hope,” he said. “At the time that Romero was assassinated, it was a dark time in the country’s history. After that, the civil war started and then now the country’s facing similar types of violence because of gangs … This brings some light of hope that the violence can hopefully be stopped again and there can be peace brought to the country.”

The day after the canonization, Juarez and Avelar attended a mass held in thanksgiving by members of the church and cardinals, bishops and priests from El Salvador, after which the pope greeted those in attendance. Though fewer Salvadorans were able to attend the canonization in Vatican City than the beatification in San Salvador, Avelar said he was proud that it took place at the universal church, demonstrating Romero’s lasting impact on more than El Salvador.

“Everyone knows about him, knows who he was, knows what he stood for, what he believed,” he said. “Many people now, even who aren’t Catholic — he sort of just transcends outside of Catholic circles …. He did what he could to stand up for basic human rights, especially for the poor people. That transcends religion, race and all these other labels.”