Archbishop Óscar Romero's strident message of social justice came as a surprise to many. His appointment as archbishop in 1977, succeeding the progressive Luis Chávez y González, had been generally attributed to his doctrinal conservatism, a view that was reinforced when the military government applauded the appointment while leftists and Marxists expressed deep dissatisfaction. A classified U.S. government communication reported the consensus thinking, which was that Romero would prove docile toward the oligarchy and military. One journalist described the unassuming Romero as “a diminutive, shy-looking man who was 60 when he assumed the archbishop's post, [and] looked and acted like the last person in the world who would be a burr in the blanket of the military or aristocracy.”

Born in a small town in the province of San Miguel in eastern El Salvador in 1917, Romero was the son of a telegraph operator. After attending seminary in San Miguel, Romero became a priest in his local region. “I could have been called a conservative,” he reflected. “But I followed the principles of Vatican II with considerable interest and noted the changes we were being asked to make.” Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope in Latin), one of the main texts that came from Vatican II, legitimized the use of the Catholic faith as a base for human rights.

Romero became secretary to the bishops’ conference in San Salvador and then bishop in the village of Santiago de Maria from 1974 to 1976. He described living a “very private life – anonymous, you might say.” But it was in Santiago de Maria where Romero “became close to the problems of the campesinos and the repression their organizing efforts aroused.” It is important to note that this new Vatican also had the effect of decentralizing the power of the church, which in the case of Latin America gave bishops more responsibility.