Celebrating Romero Week 2024

Raymond Ferrier

This year the Archbishop Romero Trust is delighted to welcome Dr Raymond Perrier as our guest speaker at the annual Romero ecumenical service at St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, commemorating the 44th anniversary of Saint Oscar Romero's martyrdom. Raymond Perrier is the Director of the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, South Africa, named in honour of Archbishop Denis Hurley.

The service will take place at 11am on Saturday 16 March and the title of this year's address is "Prayerful and Prophetic Resilience in the Face of Injustice - Archbishops Oscar Romero and Denis Hurley".

Like Saint Oscar Romero, Archbishop Hurley was a fearless defender of human rights and social justice in his home country. He was undoubtedly the most significant Catholic leader in South Africa during the 20th century. He was a courageous and outspoken opponent of South Africa's apartheid regime for 50 years, dubbed an "ecclesiastical Che Guevara" by a South African politician and "guardian of the light" by Alan Paton.

He was a participant in the Second Vatican Council which he regarded as the highlight of his life and throughout his ministry he was a champion of the reforms and spirit of the Council.

Born in Cape Town in 1915 of Irish parents Denis Hurley became the youngest Catholic Bishop in the world in 1947 at just 31 years of age and Archbishop of Durban in 1951. He retired as Archbishop in 1992 becoming chancellor of the University of Natal until 1998. He continued to work as parish priest of Durban's Emmanuel Cathedral until well into his 80s and died 20 years ago in February 2004.

In the ten years of its existence the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban has established a reputation as a place of care, education and community responding to the issues of refugees, drug addiction and homelessness.

Prior to becoming its director five years ago Raymond Perrier was head of the Jesuit Institute South Africa, working to bring a faith perspective to debates on social issues. For six years he was a trainee Jesuit priest and spent two years living and working in a refugee camp in Uganda with the Jesuit Refugee Service. After leaving the Jesuits Raymond became the head of communities for CAFOD working with Catholic parishes and schools across England and Wales. Of Indian parents Raymond was born and educated in the UK. He has extensive professional experience in the private sector, with degrees from Oxford, London and a doctorate from the University of KwaZulu Natal.

Romero events this year will be hosting two speakers. As well as Raymond Perrier, the other is Jan Graffius, Curator of Collections and Historic Libraries at Stonyhurst College and a Trustee of the Romero Trust. Since 2007 Jan has been involved in a major conservation project in El Salvador working on the Martyr Vestments of St Oscar Romero and items belonging to the Jesuit Martyrs of the University of Central America.

Details of Romero Week 2024 events:

Friday, 8 March: EXETER

6.30pm Mass, followed by talk by Raymond Perrier at Blessed Sacrament Parish, 29 Fore Street, Heavitree, Exeter EX1 2QJ

Wednesday, 13 March: GLASGOW

7pm Gonzaga Lecture at St Aloysius College. Raymond Perrier.

Thursday, 14 March: LEEDS

7pm Leeds Trinity University. Raymond Perrier.

Saturday, 16 March: LONDON

11am at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London. Annual ecumenical service to mark the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero. Speaker: Raymond Perrier.

Wednesday, 20 March: LONDON and GLASGOW

12.30pm Mass at St George's Cathedral, Southwark with Archbishop John Wilson, including presentation to schools who have achieved the Romero Award.

7pm Gonzaga Lecture at St Aloysius College, Glasgow. Jan Graffius - 'Resilience in the face of injustice: Romero and the Jesuit Martyrs'.

Thursday, 21 March: LIVERPOOL

7pm Annual anniversary Mass, followed by talk by Jan Graffius - 'Drawing us closer to Christ and the saints: Relics and their meaning for us'. St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith, Ashton-in-Makerfield WN4 9NP.

Full details at:

www.romerotrust.org.uk/news/romero-week-2024

Clare Dixon is a trustee of the Archbishop Romero Trust.