Edinburgh: Mass of Thanksgiving for Beatification of El Salvador Martyrs

Danny Sweeney

"True love is what Rutilio Grande brings with his death, with two campesinos next to him." This was the homily of his friend and archbishop, Oscar Romero following the murder of Fr Rutilio, along with his partners in mission Manuel Solórzano and Nelson Lemus on 12 March 1977 by a military junta death squad.

Over 40 years later, and with a couple of COVID-related delays, the Church recognised the martyrdom of Rutilio, Manuel and Nelson, along with the Italian Franciscan Fr Cosme Spessoto who was assassinated in El Salvador on 14 June 1980 while saying Mass for a murdered student.

Sacred Heart Church, Edinburgh marked the beatifications a few hours ahead of the events in El Salvador on 22 January 2022. The Jesuit church has a small chapel dedicated to Romero and Grande including a relic of the new Blessed: his diary. Fr David Stewart SJ showed me the diary before the Mass started, it includes notes by Grande reminding him to take medication for his diabetes. "We're not quite sure how it ended up here, or really if we should keep it" he confesses. Fr David has been the driving force behind the event, with the support of the Jesuit community, Justice and Peace Scotland, and the Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh.

Archbishop Leo Cushley led the celebrations, the Gospel for the vigil mass recalling Jesus starting his ministry taking up the scroll of Isaiah; "The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour."

The good news to the poor is what led Grande and his partners to be martyred. Fr David noted in his homily that Grande's murder wasn't the start of Romero's conversion to the option for the poor but certainly was a fork in the road which led to his own martyrdom three years later. But the new Blessed brings far more to the universal Church than being just "the inspiration of Oscar Romero". Looking online to the response in both English and Spanish I'm struck by the numbers across the world who are celebrating this. Is a beatification usually such big news? There is a call for Grande to be recognised as a patron saint for mental health, following his first-hand struggles with mental and physical health challenges. Fr David noted that most Salvadorean Jesuits at the time were committed to university academia, but Grande chose to go out to the poorest in the villages, and banners carried in San Salvador are celebrating him as "Amigo de los pobres".

Speaking with those gathered I was most struck that they wanted their children to be present. One mother to two young girls from the parish serving on the altar, the other whose son is a university student in Edinburgh, both told me they saw this event as speaking to the life of a Church which is active and engaged in the world, and they thought it important to share this with their families. Perhaps it is the grouping of the three new beati which can speak volumes? Manuel Solórzano in his early 70s, Nelson Lemus aged 16, both lay people along with Fr Tilo (as he was known) on a shared mission for justice and in solidarity with the poorest in their community. Coming from a reality where for too long the Church had sided with the rich and powerful, where generals and dictators expected the archbishops' blessings, to see clergy and laity taking the side of Isaiah, of Jesus, of the poor gives us new hope that we won't just speak the words of justice, peace, and hope but will live them in our community too.

For me, I found myself thinking of the communities I've come to know in recent months ahead of COP26 who with Pope Francis are trying to hear and respond to 'the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor'. In Latin America we continue to see the murder of Earth defenders, indigenous leaders, and activists by governments and corporations more interested in exploiting our common home than protecting it. In Myanmar, another military junta is waging war against the people and the Church. We know that such persecutions continue today, but they can seem very distant from our own experience in the West. This distance was shortened towards the end of the Mass when Archbishop Leo remarked how deeply moved he had been by the service, having known in his previous ministry several people who like Rutilio, Manuel, Nelson and Cosme had paid the same price for proclaiming the good news to the poor as they had.

Perhaps it is fitting that here too, where we see a government mired in corruption, the poorest communities suffering the most, and the various mental and physical health challenges exacerbated by two years of pandemic, we celebrated the beatification and looked to the lessons these martyrs have for our Church here and around the world.

Blessed Rutilio Grande, Blessed Manuel Solórzano, Blessed Nelson Lemus, and Blessed Cosme Spessoto; Rezar por Nosotros!

Danny Sweeney is Social Justice Co-ordinator for Justice and Peace Scotland: www.justiceandpeacescotland.org.uk

Watch: Edinburgh Mass of Thanksgiving for the Beatifications on 22 January: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrKNAi5Tojs