2 priests, 2 lay people to be beatified in El Salvador

The Roman Catholic Church is beatifying two priests and two lay people who were victims of right-wing death squads during El Salvador’s civil war

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- The Roman Catholic Church will beatify two priests and two lay people Saturday, all victims of right-wing death squads during El Salvador’s civil war.

The Rev. Rutilio Grande, a Jesuit priest killed alongside friends Manuel Solorzano and teenager Nelson Lemus on March 12, 1977, was known for his ministry to the poor and was an inspiration to St. Óscar Romero, the then-archbishop of El Salvador who himself was murdered three years later.

Franciscan priest Cosme Spessotto, an Italian who arrived in El Salvador in 1950, was shot dead while praying at the altar of his parish by Salvadoran soldiers on June 14, 1980. He was known for his work in one of the poorest parts of El Salvador and his unwillingness to leave even in the face of death threats.

Pope Francis has long spoken of his admiration for Grande and Romero, who he declared a saint in 2018. Francis is the first Latin American pontiff and first Jesuit pope.