Courageous Witnesses · Week 2 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Óscar Romero
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
A country in trouble
In the 1970s, El Salvador, a small country in Central America, was deeply divided. A few rich blank 1 owned almost everything, and most people were very poor. The army and secret groups called death squads killed people who asked for change.
Óscar Romero had been a parish priest in the city of San Miguel for more than 20 years. He visited prisoners, helped the poor and ran a Catholic newspaper. He was shy and liked order. When he was named blank 2 of San Salvador in February 1977, the rich and powerful were pleased. They thought he would not cause trouble.
The turning point
Three weeks after Romero became archbishop, his good friend Father Rutilio Grande, a blank 3 priest, was shot and killed. Father Grande had been helping poor farmers organize. An old man and a boy were killed with him.
Romero went to see the bodies and was changed. He decided that he had to walk the same path as his friend. He began reading the names of the murdered and the disappeared in his blank 4 radio homilies. Death threats came, but he refused bodyguards.
On March 24, blank 5, a gunman shot him while he was saying Mass in a hospital chapel.
Romero's life
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1917 | Write your answer |
| 1930 | Write your answer |
| 1942 | Write your answer |
| 1977 | Write your answer |
| 1979 | Write your answer |
| 1980 | Write your answer |
| 2015 | Write your answer |
| 2018 | Write your answer |
Check your understanding
Why were the rich and powerful pleased when Romero was named archbishop in 1977? Circle one.
- A He had promised to support the army
- B He came from one of the rich families
- C He had studied politics while in Rome
- D They thought he was quiet and safe
Why is that the right answer?
Before or after?
Father Rutilio Grande's murder on March 12, 1977 was Romero's turning point. Sort each event: did it happen before or after that day? Check one box for each.
| Item | Before the turning point | After the turning point |
|---|---|---|
| Runs a Catholic newspaper in San Miguel | ||
| Reads the names of the dead on the radio | ||
| Becomes a bishop | ||
| Writes to the President of the United States about weapons | ||
| Learns carpentry as an apprentice | ||
| Refuses bodyguards despite death threats | ||
| Is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize |
Check your understanding
What did Romero ask the President of the United States to do? Circle one.
- A Stop sending weapons to the army
- B Send soldiers to protect the Church
- C Give money to the radio station
- D Invite him to speak in Washington
Why is that the right answer?
Check your understanding
The Church declared Romero a martyr. What did that mean for his beatification? Circle one.
- A He needed two approved miracles
- B He needed no miracle to be beatified
- C He could skip being named Blessed
- D He had to wait one hundred years
Why is that the right answer?
Your broadcast
Romero's radio homilies reached the whole country, and he used that reach to name people who were being forgotten. You can reach many people with a phone. Who gets ignored or mocked online, and what would it look like to use your reach for them?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “Someone who gets ignored online is ...”“Romero used his reach to ..., so I could ...”“Speaking up online is risky because ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Matthew 5:9
God of truth, you hear those the world ignores.
Make us brave enough to speak and humble enough to listen.
Help us to be more, not only to have more.
St. Óscar Romero, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
About 250,000 people came to his funeral, and the people of El Salvador never forgot him. He said, “Each one of you has to be God’s microphone.”
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Óscar Romero shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Pick one place you have a voice this week, a group chat, a team or a lunch table, and use it once for someone who is being left out.