Roman Catholicism in El Salvador 4511256 207021351 2008-04-21T02:56:06Z 190.53.162.159 The '''Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador''' is part of the worldwide [[Roman Catholic Church]], under the spiritual leadership of the [[Pope]] and [[Curia (Roman Catholic Church)|curia]] in [[Rome]]. There are almost five million Catholics in [[El Salvador]]. The country is divided into eight [[diocese]]s including one [[archdiocese]], [[Archdiocese of San Salvador|San Salvador]]. The [[Constitution of El Salvador|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, <ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51638.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2005], US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; [[8 November]] [[2005]]</ref> although it is a slim majority among the young. Catholicism is most dominant in the [[San Vicente Department]] and weakest in [[Santa Ana, El Salvador|Santa Ana]]. ==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 <ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sv0049) El Salvador: The Role of Religion], Nov 1988</ref> (although in other respects he was a conservative who favored film censorship<ref>[http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20041212/dominical/dominical3.asp La Prensa archive]</ref>, staunchly opposed [[Communism]]<ref>[http://www.iglesiacr.org/content/view/99/7/ Iglesia cr]</ref>, 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 [[Christian Democratic Party (El Salvador)|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 is [[Archdiocese of San Salvador|Archbishop of San Salvador]] [[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. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3636536.stm Church call over Salvador murder], BBC, [[8 September]] [[2004]]</ref> A federal judge trying a conspiracy count against a former Salvadoran military officer termed Romero's killing "a crime against humanity." Despite that, most of the church in El Salvador is more conservative than this <ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sv0101) El Salvador: The Roman Catholic Church], Nov 1988</ref> and had no sympathy to the rebels during the civil war. [[Fernando Sáenz Lacalle]], originally of [[Opus Dei]], is the current [[Archdiocese of San Salvador|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. <ref>[http://www.tulane.edu/~latinlib/RESTRICTED/Report_from_El_Salvador/1995_0424.txt Report from El Salvador], Fundacion Flor de Izote, [[April 17]]-[[April 24]], [[1995]]</ref> He has been active in charitable work for earthquake victims <ref>[http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=6112 Anglican Recognition No Effect On Romero's Cause, Archbishop Says], Catholic World News, [[21 October]] [[1997]]</ref> and outspoken against violence. <ref>[http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=7389 Archbishop calls on Salvadorans to collaborate in eradication of violence], Catholic News Agency, [[15 August]] [[2006]]</ref> ==Statistics== {| | Diocesan Priests || 441 |- | Religious Priests || 236 |- | Total priests || 677 |- | Priests per capita || 1 in 5,689<ref>1 priest for every 5689 Catholics if the State Department is correct that the population is 57.1% Catholic.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}</ref> |- | Permanent deacons || 40 |- | Males in other Religious Orders || 410 |- | Females in religious life || 1,491 |- | Parishes || 358 |- |}total number of servers || 2,564,869,104 ==Culture and festivals== A variety of saint days are celebrated as local holidays.<ref>[http://www.elsalvador.org/home.nsf/0/e2d439bfba133a5285256b0a0074dcda?OpenDocument El Salvador.org]</ref> The country itself is called "El Salvador" which translates as "The Savior" and takes the Transfigured Jesus, ''the Divine Savior of the World'', as its patron saint, and His Feast Day on August 6 is a national holiday. The nation's co-patronness is ''Our Lady of Peace.'' A noted Catholic school is the [[Society of Jesus|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. ==Notes== <div class="references-small"><references /></div> ==External links== *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13450b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia on San Salvador (dated from 1911)] *[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/sv.html Catholic hierarchy.org on El Salvador] {{North America in topic|Roman Catholicism in}} [[Category:Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador| |El Salvador]] [[nl:Rooms-Katholiek Kerk in El Salvador]]