AMERICA/EL SALVADOR - Salvadorans remember Father Rutilio Grande on the anniversary of his assassination, in the hope of an early beatification

El Paisnal (Agenzia Fides) - Many parishes and communities in the country remembered yesterday, Sunday, March 14th, the 44th anniversary of the death of Father Rutilio Grande in the hope of his speedy beatification. On Friday, March 12th, the day of his death, faithful made a pilgrimage to El Paisnal, the place where he was born, and at the Sunday Eucharist many faithful gathered to commemorate those who were murdered by the army a few years before the outbreak of the civil war (1980-1992).
In February of last year, Pope Francis approved the decree recognizing the martyrdom of the Jesuit father Rutilio Grande, who was murdered by death squads in 1977, paving the way for beatification.
Unfortunately, due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it has not yet been possible to set the date and place for the celebration of the beatification.
In the hope of an early beatification, the country's Catholics also made a pilgrimage to the place known as Las Tres Cruces in the parish of El Paisnal (in the north of the country) where Father Grande was murdered and a celebration was also held in memory of the priest. During the ceremony, villagers and those who visited the place as pilgrims remembered Father Grande's legacy and his tireless fight against inequalities that later led the Central American country to civil war that left 8,000 people missing and killing 75,000 were.
The priest Rutilio Grande was born in El Paisnal on July 5, 1928 and murdered in 1977 by the death squads of the Salvadoran army. Known as "Father Tilo", the Jesuit was a parish priest in the city of Aguilares, 32 kilometers north of San Salvador, and was a friend of St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was also murdered in 1980 while celebrating Holy Mass. Romero was ordained Archbishop of San Salvador in February 1977, three weeks after Father Grande was assassinated. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 15/3/2021)

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