Pope Leo reveals his devotion to Marxist-linked Oscar Romero

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV carries a personal relic of controversial Salvadorean Archbishop Óscar Romero and prays to him daily, revealing his deep devotion to a figure whose canonization raised severe theological alarms.

On October 7, during an ad limina visit at the Vatican, Archbishop José Luis Escobar and the Salvadoran bishops presented Pope Leo XIV with a first-class relic of St. Óscar Arnulfo Romero and formally petitioned the Pontiff to declare him a Doctor of the Church. During the audience, Pope Leo XIV warmly received the request and disclosed that he personally carries a holy card of Romero.

“The Holy Father shared with us his particular devotion to the Salvadoran saint … Leo XIV habitually carries with him a holy card of Saint Romero accompanied by a third-class relic and entrusts himself daily to his intercession,” Archbishop Escobar of San Salvador disclosed after the papal audience.

Archbishop Escobar confirmed that Pope Leo XIV reacted favorably both to the gift of the first-class relic and to the proposal to elevate Romero to Doctor of the Church, noting that while the request requires formal consultation, the Pontiff welcomed the initiative.

On October 11, Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, former secretary to Romero, similarly remarked on the widespread affection for the late Archbishop within Vatican dicasteries, calling him “a saint for the whole Church.”

This revelation of Pope Leo XIV’s daily reliance on Romero’s intercession underscores how deeply the theological trajectory of Pope Francis’ pontificate continues to shape the current papal administration, signaling continuity with modern socio-political agendas rather than a restoration of Traditional Catholic discipline.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero served as Archbishop of San Salvador during a period of intense political violence and social unrest in El Salvador. Although initially known as a doctrinally conservative prelate, his ministry progressively aligned with many of the concerns and themes promoted by Liberation Theology, a movement that frequently incorporated elements of Marxist social analysis.

While Romero did not explicitly embrace Marxism, his close relations with clergy influenced by socialist-aligned ideas and his public interventions denouncing the government abuses earned him international acclaim but also prompted concerns among those who believed that Romero’s approach risked politicizing the Church’s mission. Romero was assassinated in 1980 and canonized by Pope Francis in October 2018 alongside another very controversial saint, Pope Paul VI.

In July 2017, Pope Francis issued the motu proprio Maiorem hac dilectionem, introducing a “fourth path” for beatification known as the “offering of life,” distinct from traditional martyrdom and heroic virtue. Renowned Catholic historian Roberto de Mattei exposed how this new path redefined Catholic martyrdom, traditionally understood as death suffered specifically in hatred of the Catholic faith.

As Saint Augustine wrote, non facit martyrem poena, sed causa (“it is not the suffering that makes the martyr but the cause;” cf. Sermo 327). However, progressive Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, postulator for Romero’s cause, openly admitted Romero was not killed by atheist persecutors to force him to deny the Holy Trinity but was assassinated for socio-political reasons, thereby transforming political activism into a new substitute for martyrdom.

Writing on the canonization crisis, de Mattei and other traditionalist scholars such as Christopher Ferrara pointed out that the process bypassed traditional canonical rigor, noting that the miracles attributed to Romero failed to meet the strict historic criteria of being scientifically inexplicable, instantaneous, and complete cures. De Mattei observed that these post-conciliar canonizations served the political objective of creating a “new Pantheon of saints” to validate conciliar ideology rather than true sanctity.