The Salvadoran Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande and the Italian Franciscan Cosme Spessotto, assassinated by the military in the prelude to the civil war (1980-1992) in El Salvador, They will be beatified this Saturday, along with two laymen, for his martyrdom in defense of the poor and persecuted of the country.
At least 6,000 faithful are expected in the Divino Salvador del Mundo square for the ceremony, which will be presided over by Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, representing the Pope Francisco.
A large pavilion with a palm roof, as a symbol of simplicity, was erected for the ceremony in which all attendees were asked to wear a mask to prevent covid-19 infections.
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“The fact that the church officially accepts them as martyrs is that their life was correct, they took risks to help the poor and were faithful to a call (of service) that cost them their lives,” Rosa Chavez told AFP.
In the midst of the Cold War, when El Salvador was experiencing social unrest repressed by the military, Grande maintained “an energetic and questioning word” and Spessotto the value of “burying” the dead that the military left as a lesson in the streets, recalls the cardinal .
For Doris Yanira Barahona, 63, a fervent Catholic, the beatification of both represents “the well-deserved recognition of two men who were greatly loved for their work in difficult times, and they were men who gave themselves to defending the most dispossessed.”
Grande was assassinated on March 12, 1977 while he was crossing a highway in El Paisnal in his vehicle., 40 km north of San Salvador. The sacristan Manuel Solórzano (72 years old) and Nelson Rutilio Lemus (16) also died, who will also be beatified and are buried next to him.
A mariachi serenade took place outside the church where Grande and the two laymen who died with him rest.
The fatal attack on Grande was the beginning of the persecution of the Salvadoran clergy who denounced the prevailing social injustice.
Fray Cosme Spessotto, meanwhile, was assassinated on June 14, 1980 inside the church of San Juan Nonualco, 54 km southeast of the capital and where he was parish priest for 27 years.
Meanwhile, the archbishopric of San Salvador announced that relics of the murdered priests will be presented at the beatification ceremony: a white handkerchief stained with blood that Grande wore the day of his murder; and a white blanket also covered in blood with which Spessotto’s body was covered.
According to the Church, the relics represent the presence of both priests at their beatification.
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