Chai Brady
To see somebody give their life out of love for their people is inspiring not just for Christians, but for people of all Faiths, one Dubliner who attended the canonisations on Sunday said of St Oscar Romero.
An eclectic mix of energised people streamed out of St Peter’s Square after the canonisations of seven new saints, from South America to Asia there seemed to be worldwide representation – a reflection of a global Church that impressed many pilgrims.
However, a few Irish people made the trip including Tom and Grace Byrne, both from Dublin, who told The Irish Catholic they were extremely impressed by the life of St Romero.
“To have a priest that was willing give his life for the people, that should be encouraged more by the Catholic Church so that people can get involved in their religion again a grow a stronger Faith,” said Tom.
“We do understand about turning the cheek, and that has to happen, but also people don’t want to be pushed around and they want to be defended. If somebody is going to give their life to defend the poor, that’s what you want to see.”
He said it’s very “inspiring” for all Christians and people of all Faiths to “see that somebody can love people enough to do that, of course it’s inspiring”.
“You want people to have a Faith they can believe in, that people are strong for them, and the leaders will show leadership by laying down their lives to make the Faith stronger,” Tom added.
For Aoife and Niall Egan, from Galway, they were returning to the city where they married three years ago.
The couple were given the chance to meet the Pope and shake his hand, saying it was an “amazing experience”.
Speaking about Oscar Romero Niall said: “It’s crazy what happened to him, but you know he stood up for the people and he paid the price I suppose at the end of the day. It’s definitely very fitting he’s a saint for the type of person he was.”
For a group of European clergy St Pope Paul VI was someone they truly admired. Fr Cristof Labek CSSR, from Poland, said: “It was very nice for the Holy Father to set aside Paul VI, I think it’s sign for the future of the Church, that we have a future as a Church.
“I would say it was very important for me because I saw so many priests from different countries. Jesus Christ is a hope for the whole world, it was very, very good to be here.”
It was the Salvadorans who were the loudest, shouting “Viva Monsenor Romero!” (Long live Bishop Romero!), and singing songs dedicated to the saint as they filed out.
An elderly lady, part of a tour group, said it was great to see so many different people in attendance.
“I see very many people from other countries, not only from El Salvador, from Argentina, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and people from all over Europe – babies, old people, people from all ages. It’s wonderful,” she said, adding that “Oscar Romero is very very important for me”.
Gary, Cynthia and Demi Marshall from Delaware in the US watched as a family. “It was a wonderful experience and I’m so happy to have brought my daughter and wife with me, the Pope led us here,” said Gary.