Roman Catholicism in El Salvador

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The Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. There are almost four million Catholics in El Salvador. The country is divided into eight dioceses including one archdiocese. The Constitution explicitly recognizes the Roman Catholic Church and it has legal status.

Despite its legal status, Catholicism in El Salvador has been in decline for the last 17 years with the most devout members above age 53. However, the religion remains a majority in all age groups, ^[1] although it is a slim majority among the young. Catholicism is most dominant in the San Vicente Department and weakest in Santa Ana.

Contents 1 History and Society 2 Statistics 3 Culture and festivals 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] History and Society

Catholicism began in the nation in the sixteenth century with the invasion by Pedro de Alvarado. San Salvador was made an archdiocese on February 11, 1913 with Monsignor Antonio Adolfo Perez as first Archbishop. Prior to that date it had been under the jurisdiction of Guatemala. Archbishop Luis Chávez y González from 1939 to 1977 encouraged priests to study farming cooperatives and made efforts toward improving the poorest sectors of El Salvador ^[2] (although in other respects he was a conservative who favored film censorship^[3], staunchly opposed Communism^[4], and was devoted to Pope Pius XII).

The governments have had a mixed relationship to the Catholic Church varying from friendly to anti-clerical. The most overtly Catholic-influenced political party might be the Partido Demócrata Cristiano with José Napoleón Duarte as one of its most noted founding members. The dealings of the government with the Catholic Church or Catholic organizations varied depending on the leadership of church or state at any given time. In modern times El Salvador is noted for having members linked to social and reform movements. At times these include followers of what's termed Liberation theology. The most well-known figure in the El Salvadoran church's history might be Archbishop Óscar Romero. On March 24, 1980, during the civil war in El Salvador he was assassinated while performing his mass because of his positions regarding the government and demands to the end of the violence in the nation. In 2004 the Church in El Salvador asked for a reinvestigation of the case. ^[5] A spokeswoman for the San Salvador diocese termed his killing "a crime against humanity."

Despite that, most of the church in El Salvador is more conservative than this ^[6] and had no sympathy to the rebels during the civil war. Fernando Sáenz Lacalle, originally of Opus Dei, is the current Archbishop of San Salvador. He is in general an opponent of Liberation theology and his appointment in 1995 was viewed with disdain by followers of that school of thought. ^[7] He has been active in charitable work for earthquake victims ^[8] and outspoken against violence. ^[9]

[edit] Statistics

Diocesan Priests	441
Religious Priests	236
Total priests	677
Priests per capita	1 in 5,689[10]
Permanent deacons	40
Males in other Religious Orders	410
Females in religious life	1,491
Parishes	358

[edit] Culture and festivals

A variety of saint days are celebrated as local holidays.^[11] The nation's patron is Our Lady of Peace.

A noted Catholic school is the Jesuit-run Externado San José whose alumni include ex-president Armando Calderón Sol and Roque Dalton, a Communist poet. A prominent seminary is San José de la Montaña in San Salvador where both Romero and liberation theologian Rutilio Grande studied.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia on San Salvador (dated from 1911)
• Catholic hierarchy.org on El Salvador