Pilgrims from El Salvador continued to celebrate the canonization of Monsignor Romero with a Mass of Thanksgiving and this encounter with the pope in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
The Archbishop of San Salvador, Monsignor Escobar, addressed Pope Francis on behalf of everyone to express his gratitude.
“We know that Christ has acted through his vicar on earth and that you, Holy Father, have been the Lord's instrument for our beloved Monsignor Romero to be so highly glorified.”
The gratitude of the El Salvadorian people was shown, alongside this request.
“That St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero may be declared Doctor of the Church.”
It was a meeting full of warmth and emotion attended by some 3,000 Salvadorans. The pope began with this joke:
POPE FRANCIS
“I greet my brothers in the Episcopate, the bishops of El Salvador, who have come to Rome accompanied by their priests and faithfuls... and so many nuns, right?”
Pope Francis explained that now, more than ever, St. Oscar Romero is an example and a motivation, especially for priests and bishops.
POPE FRANCIS
“To the priests, to the bishops I ask, 'take care of God's faithful holy people. Do not scandalize them. Take care of them.'”
The pope also recalled the suffering that El Salvador went through, and wished that the new saint would be a bearer of peace for the whole continent.
POPE FRANCIS
“The memory of St. Oscar Romero is a an exceptional opportunity to send a message of peace and reconciliation to all the peoples of Latin America.”
The meeting ended with an embrace from the nun who accompanied Romero during his last years. and with traditional music from El Salvador.
