A Salvadorian Jesuit priest, Rutilio Grande, was beatified on Saturday 22nd January in San Salvador along with two lay companions and Franciscan Father, Cosma Spessotto.

All were victims of murder at the hands of death squads during the years of terror in El Salvador and are considered by Catholics to be martyrs for faith and justice. Fr Rutilio had dedicated his life to organising the impoverished and marginalised rural farmers of El Salvador as they fought for their rights, and many in the ruling class saw this as a threat to their power. No official investigation into the murders was ever conducted.

In a video message, Fr. Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Jesuits, said:

“Fr. Rutilio Grande was a Jesuit of unsuspected human and religious dimensions. In his weakness he found his greatness. (...) He knew how to be a counsellor, an understanding and kind companion, and at the same time firm and serious about the Christian life and the responsible exercise of the priestly ministry. The peasant population, of which he himself was a part and which he served with dedication in his pastoral service, found in him a close, self-sacrificing and loving religious, ordained priest to share life with the community of the followers of Jesus who witness to the Good News."

A press release about the beatification has been issued by the Jesuit Curia in Rome. You can read it by clicking on the link below.

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