El Salvador Launches New Monsignor Romero City Tour

El Salvador Tourist Board has launched the Monsignor Romero City Tour, a new tour of San Salvador and other locations linked to the life and legacy of Archbishop Oscar Romero, in a bid to capitalize on the importance of this historical figurehead and boost religious tourism to the country.

Monsignor Oscar Romero, “the voice of the poor and persecuted”, was a crucial figure in the struggles that led to civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s. His love for his people, who were suffering violence and oppression, led him to take their side and to denounce their oppressors. His outspoken sermons at San Salvador Cathedral gained him huge popular support and international acclaim. He was named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universities of Georgetown (USA) and Leuven (Belgium) and in 1979 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

His position also led to accusations of being a revolutionary and death threats, and he was assassinated while celebrating mass at the Chapel of the Divine Providence Hospital in 1980. He has become a 20th Century Martyr, commemorated as such with a statue in Westminster Abbey, and is now being canonized to become a Saint.
 
While his tomb at San Salvador Cathedral has attracted many Catholic pilgrims in the past decades, the new Monsignor Romero City Tour aims to extend the appeal to many other international visitors interested in the history of the country and anybody who supports his cause for justice and equality around the world.
 
The City Tour around San Salvador takes approximately six hours, and can be extended to up to two days to include a visit to the nearby town of Santa Tecla and other places of interest in the historic center of San Salvador. The tour is available through several local operators.