Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop Peter Smith, the Apostolic Nuncio and six other Catholic Bishops attended ecumenical evensong at Westminster Abbey to mark 100 years since the birth of Oscar Romero. Cardinal Nichols said prayers during the service and then at the end, greeted people at the Abbey’s Great West Door along with the Dean, Dr John Hall.
Above their heads stood the statue of Blessed Oscar Romero, placed there in 1998, alongside other 20th Century Martyrs. A wreath was placed below the statue at the start of the service on 23 September, by the Chair of the Archbishop Romero Trust, Julian Filochowski.
The service included the first performance of an anthem by the composer James MacMillan, specially commissioned for the event by Westminster Abbey. Loretta Minghella OBE, Chief Executive of Christian Aid and Julie Etchingham, CAFOD Ambassador gave the readings.
During evensong, an audio extract from a homily given by Archbishop Romero at Mass the day before he was shot dead in March 1980 was played to the congregation. A piece of his blood-stained alb was displayed on the High Altar in a reliquary designed by the Salvadoran artist, Fernando Llort.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, gave the sermon. He said that Blessed Oscar Romero had constantly challenged the “death dealing fiction” which kept his entire society in slavery: “He would have been grieved but not surprised to know that that inequality and barbaric violence is still a feature of so many countries in Central and South America.”
Week by week from his pulpit during his three years as Archbishop, Romero had confronted the military regime which governed El Salvador. He denounced the human rights violations, the political violence, the corrupt legal and land systems and the suffering of El Salvador's poor.
The Westminister Abbey service followed a Mass at St George’s Cathedral in Southwark in August, in which the homily was given by Archbishop Paglia, who is in charge of promoting the recognition of Romero as a saint, at the Vatican. He was beatified by Pope Francis in 2015. Evensong was recorded by BBC Radio 3 and is due to be broadcast on October 25th.
PICTURE:Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Dean of Westminster Abbey, Dr John Hall pictured at Westminster Abbey, 23 September ©Bernadette Kehoe
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