According to a February 2021 survey by the University of Central America’s Institute of Public Opinion, 43.3% of the population saw themselves as Catholic, 33.9% as evangelical Christian, and 18.6% had no religious affiliation.[1]
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. According to some sources, Catholicism is only adhered to by 39% of its populace.[2] Catholicism is most dominant in the San Vicente Department and weakest in Santa Ana. In the fall of 2018, El Salvador had its first saint, Blessed Oscar Romero.
Catholicism began in the nation in the sixteenth century with the invasion of 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[3] (although in other respects he was a conservative who favored film censorship,[4] staunchly opposed Communism,[5] and was devoted to Pope Pius XII).
The governments have had a mixed relationship with 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 is Archbishop of San SalvadorÓscar Romero. On March 24, 1980, during the civil war in El Salvador he was assassinated while saying 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.[6] 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[7] 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.[8] He has been active in charitable work for earthquake victims[9] and outspoken against violence.[10]
El Salvador's first and only Cardinal, Gregorio Rosa Chavez, was an Auxiliary Bishop to the Archbishop of San Salvador Jose Luis Escobar Alas, was appointed by Pope Francis. He retired in October 2022.[11]
A variety of saint days are celebrated as local holidays.[13] 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-patroness is Our Lady of Peace.
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular Bishop of Tambeae, as Bishop of Santiago de María, and finally as the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. As archbishop, Romero spoke out against social injustice and violence amid the escalating conflict between the military government and left-wing insurgents that led to the Salvadoran Civil War. In 1980, Romero was shot by an assassin while celebrating Mass. Though no one was ever convicted for the crime, investigations by the UN-created Truth Commission for El Salvador concluded that Major Roberto D'Aubuisson, a death squad leader and later founder of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) political party, had ordered the killing.
The Catholic Church in Puerto Rico is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope in Rome. The 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico have a Catholic church which is located in the downtown area, normally across from the central plaza.
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Arturo Rivera y Damas was the ninth Bishop and fifth Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. Msgr. Rivera's term as archbishop (1983–1994) coincided with the Salvadoran Civil War. He was the immediate successor of Archbishop Óscar Romero. During Romero's archbishopric (1977–1980), Rivera was Romero's key ally. He had been the auxiliary of Romero's long-reigning predecessor, Luis Chávez y González (1938–1977). He was also a friend of Mother Teresa, who stayed at his family home on her visit to El Salvador
The Archdiocese of San Salvador is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. Its archepiscopal see is the Salvadoran capital, San Salvador, and the surrounding region.
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Antonio León Ortega was a Spanish sculptor known for his Andalusian imagery.
Christianity is the dominant religion in El Salvador. The Catholic share of the population is on decline while Protestantism is experiencing rapid growth in recent decades. The Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado named part of the territory of modern day El Salvador after Jesus Christ - San Salvador. The territory's name, including the province of San Miguel, was later extended to the Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, El Salvador Del Mundo, shortened to the Republic of El Salvador, or Salvador, during the post-Federal Republic period and subsequently settled on as El Salvador.
José Luis Escobar Alas, Archbishop of San Salvador in El Salvador, succeeded Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Sáenz Lacalle as the seventh archbishop, a successor of Archbishop Óscar Romero who was assassinated in 1980.
Pedro Roldán (1624–1699) was a Baroque sculptor from Seville, Andalusia, Spain. His daughter Luisa Roldán, known as La Roldana, was also a major figure of Spanish Baroque sculpture.
Valencian Gothic is an architectural style. It occurred under the Kingdom of Valencia between the 13th and 15th centuries, which places it at the end of the European Gothic period and at the beginning of the Renaissance. The term "Valencian Gothic" is confined to the Kingdom of Valencia and its area of influence, which has its own characteristics.
Julián de Cortázar y Carrillo was a Spanish-born prelate of the Catholic Church in the part of New Spain that is now Colombia. From 1618 to 1627 he served as Bishop of Córdoba in Argentina, and from 1627 to 1630 as Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada in New Spain.
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