El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated while presiding at Mass in 1980. Three years earlier, Rutilio Grande, S.J., priest and friend of the Archbishop, was also murdered for the same offense—speaking out for the poor and vulnerable.

By Ana María Pineda
Published: May, 2016
$19.95

Decades after his death, Romero remains a controversial figure in the life of the Church and in his homeland of El Salvador. For some, the announcement of his beautification by Pope Francis was joyful, for others troubling. Until this book, the stories about these these men have grown elusive and vague. Now El Salvadoran native and Sister of Mercy Ana María Pineda once again catapults these two martyrs into our collective consciences in an account that is both significantly personal and painstakingly researched during multiple trips to her homeland where she discovered surprising facts very “close to home.”

Archbishop Paglia said at the beatification of Archbishop Romero: “It is impossible to know Romero without knowing Rutilio Grande.” Fr. Robert S. Pelton, C.S.C., Notre Dame, said about the book: Understanding more fully their relationship is the special strength and contribution of this book. I recommend this book as an essential part of the living tradition of prophetic leadership in the Latin American Church.

MORE ENDORSEMENTS
Latinos in the Americas live their faith not as individual spiritual quests, but as communitarian pathways to God. Romero and Grande unveil how commitment transforms human weakness. This book inspires us to imitate everyday holiness of spiritual leaders not as isolated heroes, but as members of what Christians call the communion of saints. —Timothy Matovina, Professor of Theology, Co-Director, Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame.

Years of research and personal interviews went into this insightful, inspiring book. Much more than biographical, this deeply moving examination of the faith journeys of two key figures in the history of the Church come alive as great leaders and pastors, but also as profoundly human men of faith who can be companions in our own spiritual journeys. —Roberto S. Goizueta, Margaret O’Brien Flatley Professor of Catholic Theology, Boston College.

RECOMMENDED FOR:

• Courses on Social Justice
• Courses on Liberation Theology
• Studies on modern martyrs
• Studies on the Hispanic Church
• Parish Book Discussion Groups

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Ana María Pineda, R.S.M., is a member of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, and a graduate of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago (M.A.) and the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain (S.T.D.). Doctor Pineda was on the faculty at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and served as Director of its Hispanic Ministry Program. She is a founding member of the prestigious Hispanic Theological Initiative that supports Latino doctoral theological graduate studies. She is currently Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University College of Arts and Sciences.
A native of El Salvador, Ana María as an adolescent met personally with Archbishop Romero, and her family is related by marriage to Fr. Rutilio Grande.

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