Today's matchup features two Roman Catholics, the martyred archbishop of El Salvador and an American nun known for her charity and educational work. See, we're doing our part for Christian unity here at Lent Madness. However, lest you think this was a diabolical attempt to pit them against one another, don't forget Dorothy Day is yet to come.
Yesterday, Janani Luwum trounced Thomas Tallis 69% to 31% and will face fellow martyr Jonathan Daniels in the Round of the Saintly Sixteen. While Archbishop Luwum was a virtual Lent Madness unknown, his inspiring story clearly touched many in profound ways.
Perhaps the biggest story in Lent Madness circles was the resolution of the 2013 Mug Controversy. That collective sigh of relief heard 'round the world was confirmation that Tim finally received his Lent Madness mug, thereby preserving the Lenten Detente between the two members of the Supreme Executive Committee.
Oscar Romero
Oscar Romero was born in Cuidad Barrios, El Salvador, on August 15, 1917. He wanted to be a priest, but his family, like almost everyone else, was poor. He had to drop out of seminary several times before he was ordained, to work as a carpenter. But he finished, he excelled, and he was named a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in 1967.
Romero was known as a quiet, academic type. He had studied at the Vatican in Rome. He was conservative, unlikely to make waves or to upset the status quo. Because of this reputation, in 1977, he was elevated to archbishop of San Salvador, the highest church office in the country.
At the time in El Salvador, 90% of the population lived on less than $100 a year. 200 families owned 75% of the farmable land. A quarter of the children died before the age of five and the average life expectancy was 46 years old. All labor unions were forbidden by law.
A number of the Catholic priests and nuns had begun to question this, to ask what the Christ who healed the leper and befriended the impoverished would make of this situation. Romero's conversion process had begun when he worked with the poor as a local bishop, but when a dear friend was assassinated by a death squad, it was complete.
Weeks after becoming archbishop, Romero called a meeting of all the clergy, priests and nuns, in the country, to figure out how to respond to the assassination of clergy. He canceled all Catholic services in the country, save the funeral mass at the cathedral in San Salvador where he was preaching. This forced everyone, rich and poor alike to attend the same mass, or commit a major sin.
From this time forward, he broadcast every mass from the cathedral on the radio. Everyone heard his sermons, and he became known as the "Voice of the Voiceless." He called on the government to stop the death squads. He called on the soldiers to disobey orders to kill. He called on the rich to support reform. He established a permanent diocesan commission to discover and document human rights abuses in the country. Again and again, he used his authority and power as archbishop to throw the considerable weight of the church behind the oppressed and the victimized.
On March 24, 1980, he was celebrating mass in a small hospital chapel, when he was shot by an assassin whose identity remains unknown. At his funeral, bombs exploded among the 50,000 mourners, killing at least 40, and making Romero's last sermon even more poignant: "Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ will live like the grain of wheat that dies...The harvest comes because of the grain that dies."
Collect for Oscar Romero
Almighty God, you called your servant Oscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor, and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, we may without fear or favor, witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Born in 1774 into a prominent Episcopal family (her maternal grandfather was rector of St. Andrew’s, Staten Island), Elizabeth Ann Seton grew up a devout Episcopalian. Her spiritual director while a member at Trinity Wall Street was John Henry Hobart, later Bishop of New York, and her wedding was performed by Bishop Sam Provoost. In 1797, as a 23-year-old wife and socialite, she was one of the founders of the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, the first private charitable organization in New York City, serving as its treasurer.
In 1798, her husband, William Seton, took over the Seton family shipping and mercantile business, which fell on hard times. Facing both bankruptcy and tuberculosis, in 1803 William took Elizabeth and the eldest of their five children, Anna Maria, to Italy in hopes of regaining his health and connecting with a former business connection, Filippo Filicchi. Unfortunately, as news reached Italy of Yellow Fever in New York, instead of recovering in the Italian sun, Seton and his wife and daughter were quarantined in stone barracks. Days after the family left quarantine, William died, leaving Elizabeth, now 29, a poor widow with five small children.
Staying with the Filicchi family, Elizabeth was introduced to Roman Catholicism and found herself drawn to its sacraments and worship. As she wrote to her sister-in-law, “[Y]ou know how we were laughed at for running from one church to another, sacrament Sundays, that we might receive as often as we could; well, here people that love God…can go every day.”
Returning to New York City, she was received by the Roman Catholic Church but rejected by her friends and family, some of whom disinherited her. An impoverished single mother, she ran a boarding house for boys attached to St. Mark’s, New York, but parents withdrew their children upon learning of her religion. After the conversion of Elizabeth’s young sister-in-law to Catholicism, even Bishop Hobart warned others to cut off any communication with her.
Invited to Baltimore to begin a school, in 1810 Elizabeth founded St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This school for girls from poor families as well as paid boarders became the foundation for the parochial school system in America. She trained the sisters to be teachers and wrote the textbooks. In 1812, she established the first religious order for women in America, the Sisters of Charity, which under Mother Seton’s leadership established orphanages in Philadelphia and New York City. She also worked to assist Baltimore’s poor and sick all while continuing to care for her own children. She died in 1821 at the age of 46.
Collect for Elizabeth Ann Seton
Holy God, you blessed Elizabeth Seton with your grace as wife, mother, educator and founder, that she might spend her life in service to your people: Help us, by her example, to express our love for you in love of others; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Vote!
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165 comments on “Oscar Romero vs. Elizabeth Ann Seton”
"He was conservative, unlikely to make waves or to upset the status quo. Because of this reputation, in 1977, he was elevated to archbishop of San Salvador, the highest church office in the country." Then, his heart was changed. He became a nightmare to the established church and a blessing to the people. When I was in Mexico last Fall, I stayed with nuns and we watched the movie about his life together. (One of them was one of the nuns in the film!) I saw through their eyes how people like Oscar Romero represent the hope of the church and Emmanuel, God being with them and among them. I am voting for Oscar for those Sisters of Guadalupe, whose ministry to people like me is "creating hearts for the poor," and to whom Oscar Romero is a beacon.
I went with Liz!!! I may be a Episcopalian now but came from UP background. I am a kindred spirit to someone who helps widow and orphans. Like we are told to do!! Besides I cannot abide how she was treated by so called Episcopalian Christians!!
It seems to me that the RC's were better at being Christ like than we were.
I commend the Archbishop for his sacrifice! I think he has his golden halo already so I still like Liz!!
This was a difficult choice for me to make. When I was in Junior High School, I led a group that did service projects to clean and beautify Mother Seton park in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. That was how I first learned of Mother Seton. In my 30s, I had a chance meeting with a member of the Sisters of Charity that has stayed with me. Still, in the end, I voted for Oscar Romero as an icon of advocacy for those who have no voice. It was a choice of core values over emotional resonance.
With the liturgical renewal of the mid-20th century. Elizabeth Seton would have not "swum the Tiber" to get the sacraments of the Church. I value her witness in the time that she lived. However, having visited El Salvador and especially the place where Abp. Romero was killed, I have to vote for him.
Sometimes I feel like words are trapped up in my body and I can't get them out. It is hard to explain the feelings I have for the suffering of the people of El Salvador, one just has to go there and see for themselves the cruelty of the war that, financed by the United States, was waged against the people of El Salvador by 14 families that held 85% of all the wealth in the country. I voted for Msgr. Romero. "Si me matan, resucitaré en el pueblo salvadoreño." Mother Seaton, the first American Saint to be canonized the RC church, was a great woman - no offense.
"Smoky Mary's" is an Anglo-Catholic church in NYC. It's official name is St. Mary the Virgin. Very high episcopal church. Lots of bells and incense, otherwise known as smells and bells.
I had to go with Mother Seton on this one. I love Oscar Romero's witness, but 5 children, widowed, poor, rejected by her family, the standing of women in this period and her love of the Eucharist tipped the scale for me.
Seton hugely admirable. Voting Romero today for his refusal to abide by a status quo that was keeping him quite comfortably, and his hugely effective witness to transformation of self and society.
I found this round to be by far the toughest yet! However, my vote went to Seton. To be a single mother of no less than 5 children and to help others in their need is a remarkable feat. Romero also is exceptional, we all know how hard it is to swim against the tide. Well done guys for a challenging match up and I am learning so much about these wonderful men and women of faith.
I voted for Elizabeth Setan because I could follow her example better, but I really believe the Lord doesn't make these distinctions! The modern saints have been named because we can follow their example, like St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and others.
I had to vote for EAS the parish down the streat from my congregation is named after her.
I can't believe that I didn't vote for the woman, but liberation theology is what brought this former-fundie-turned-atheist back into the fold. Romero it is.
Perhaps Elizabeth Ann Seton could have returned to New York, remarried and raised her family in more comfortable circumstances. Instead, she supported her children by opening boarding schools and orphanages and establishing the Sisters of Charity. Her work continues nearly 200 years after her death, as noted above by other LM comments.
I thought I'd vote for Bishop Romero, but it occurred to me that there is another kind of sacrifice: a living sacrifice. So, I'm voting for Mother Seton.
Both of these saints (and perhaps all saints) created a "disturbance in the force" by countering authority or tradition.
I cast my vote for San Oscar Romero de las Americas. It’s been almost 30 years since my first protest against military aid in El Salvador—in 1984, in college. I was formed in the El Salvador solidarity movement. El Salvador and the Salvadoran community here in the U.S.A. have a piece of my heart, and he is their saint, and mine.
The Jesuit priest who is said to have “turned” Archbishop Romero’s heart to the people was Padre Rutilio Grande, a friend from seminary. Padre Rutilio served the parish of Aguilares, a sugar cane cultivation area north of the capital city, where most of the resident farmworkers (campesinos) were desperately poor. He organized “base Christian communities,” where laypeople were trained to read and study the Gospel, to evangelize, and to serve the people. Padre Rutilio’s subversive message, in the eyes of the landowners and military, was to preach the dignity of every human being. On March 12, 1977, Padre Rutilio was murdered by machine gun fire, along with campesinos Manuel Solorzano, 72, and Nelson Rutilio Lemus, 16, who happened to be riding in the truck with him. It was these deaths that were the reason for the archbishop’s declaration of a single mass. From that day forward, Romero became the country’s most vocal advocate for the poor.
The Catholic Radio broadcasts were of extreme importance, because Romero’s was the only uncensored voice for the people in the country. On the radio, he spoke out against inequality, corruption, and above all, violence. And he read out the names, the many, many names, of those who were missing (“disappeared”), demanding the military and government answer for them. People lined up outside the archdiocesan offices to bring their stories to him. Everyone listened to those broadcasts; they reached into the most remote villages.
About the persecution of the church—dozens of priests and nuns killed, and more to come after his death, including the four American church workers and the six Jesuit priests—Romero said: "While it is clear that our Church has been the victim of persecution during the last three years …. [it] comes about because of the Church's defense of the poor, for assuming the destiny of the poor." And: “A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth - beware! - is not the true church of Jesus Christ.”
He expected to be martyred. A few weeks before his death, he told a reporter: "…if they succeed in killing me, I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish."
And another time: "I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me I will rise again in the people of El Salvador."
On the day before they murdered him, March 23, 1980, Oscar Romero preached a sermon in the cathedral that concluded with a direct appeal to the soldiers:
“Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your own brother peasants when any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God which says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God …. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you, in the name of God: Stop the repression.”
Oscar Romero, Presente!
The similarities between Oscar Romero and Thomas Becket at are striking: both were the leading archbishop of their countries; both ran up against the power of the rulers; both were assassinated by thugs working for the threatened political power. Romero, even more than Becket, was a witness to the message of Jesus. Why the Roman church has taken so long to declare him a saint is inexcusable. He should be added to the Litany of the Saints at once.
Sancte Oscar Romeroensis, ora pro nobis!
THis is one of the easiest choicest I have had to make so far. Near my home where I grew up was a place called Seton Hall Named after Elizabeth. This place took care of homeless children. Some of these children went to school with me. I always thought it was such a wonderful place and have fond memories of my dear childhood friends from Seton Hall.
Very tough choice, I agree. But I have to go with Mother Seton, who was brought to her knees as an impoverished widow and somehow still found the strength in the Spirit to minister not just to her own family but to dozens of poor widows and orphans, inspiring countless others to carry on the work of education and uplifting the poor and disadvantaged. Here, in our own country. She gets my vote.
Voting for Elizabeth because of her commitment to girl's education at a time when it was not always the norm. This is a battle we are still fighting worldwide - educating girls and women to life them out of poverty and empower communities. Romero used his authority and power as Archbishop in meaningful and wonderful ways that continue to inspire, but Seton was a woman who had no power and created her own authority.
Well said! Both Romero and Seton were remarkable, but for the reasons you stated so well -- "a woman who had no power and created her own authority" -- Seton got my vote.
Again, I wanted to vote for both of them-Romero because he is an obvious hero, and Seton because I'm a retired RN and worked in Seton Hospital when I lived in Austin, Texas, as a young woman. It was a Catholic hospital and I'm sure it was named after her.
This was a toss up for me. I am a product of the Roman Catholic School system. The liturgy of the Catholic Church drew me to TEC. However. I'm a Spanish teacher and just led a discussion about Romero on Monday. My vote for Romero.
No disrespect to Oscar Romero, who is indeed inspirational, I voted for Elizabeth because once her husband died, society deemed her unworthy. It feels to me like we are deeming her unworthy today, just because her calling didn't kill her. She is again the underdog.
Tough choice but had to give my support to Elizabeth Ann Seton!
Really moved by the story of the returning destitute Episcopalian turned away by her socialite friends. She was just hoping that her adopted Italian family was Filcchi rich.
Well - that is about snarky enough - really too bad!
I really think this was a clever pun, and don't sense any intention to be hurtful on the part of the writer.
I'll probably be accused of being a "grammatical" (see previous comments) but I wonder how Seton could have been "born into a devout Episcopal family" before there was an Episcopal Church. "Anglican" or "Church of England" would seem to make more sense. Don't mean to be picky - I am a loyal LM fan, thanks!
Sorry - that's "grammarian".
I voted for Elizabeth Anne Seaton for sentimental reasons, since I was born in a Sisters of Charity hospital in New York and educated in a high school and a college run by the Sisters. Widows and orphans in the 18th and early 19th century had it hard because there weren't a lot of charitable organizations that took care of them. There were workhouses in America for those people.
I've pondered this all day and I know Archbishop Romero will most likely win. His witness and martyrdom is historic and I deeply admire him. However, I voted for the martyr and front runner yesterday. Sister Elizabeth, this gentle, faithful woman created something that has touched millions of people through the years, a small beginning that has had exponential impact through the Sisters of Charity. My vote goes to the underdog today!
In my youth I worked for President Napoleon Duarte, first when he was in the Junta and later as President. I was basically a speech writer and lobbyist for Napo up in DC while the turmoil was occurring in ES. I vividly remember the death of Romero, and a year or so later the Nuns killed by death squads.
I was one that believed both that Romero was a true martyr and that Duarte really was trying to get control of the death squads... particularly Arena backed back-channel funded ones. He was thwarted every step of the way by his own military and by the provocations of the FMLN which put him in an impossible and untenable "middle."
I asked Napo about Romero... who he knew pretty well. His death was a singular motivating experience for Napo and he said as much in his biography.
For what its worth... Romero's death lead to a narrative that has rescued central america from much of the corruption and extremism. If they could now deal with the narco terrorist, they might have a chance!
Elizabeth Ann Seton was in my 4th grade history book (Catholic school), and was always special to me as one of the few *American* saints. And I've been to her shrine in Emmetsburg, which was quite lovely.
But oh, the RC church today so desperately needs bishops and archbishops who will "use[ their ]authority and power . . . to throw the considerable weight of the church behind the oppressed and the victimized" instead of behind the lawyers and the reputation managers. My vote today is a prayer. Abp Romero, intercede for us.
I voted for Romero--something very stark and forbidding about this kind of sacrifice--sends chills up and down my spine
I voted for Mother Seaton for sentimental reasons. A devout Catholic thought we named our daughter after her, and thus I became aware of her. Christian work is mostly done in everyday happenings without fanfare. Oscar Romero was brave and certainly worthy of sainthood, but sentiment won.
Such a tough vote. I'm inspired by both lives. True religion and undefiled. Greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life. O that my life would speak so clearly!