Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez dedicated his appointment as El Salvador’s first Catholic Cardinal to his longtime friend and mentor, Blessed Oscar Romero, a slain archbishop who has come to symbolize the small Central American country’s fight for justice. Cardinal-designate Rosa Chavez said he was surprised by a 5 a.m. call on May 21, with news of the announcement from the Vatican. He said at first he thought it was a joke. He ex-pressed his “profound gratitude” to God and Pope Francis, who named him and Archbishops from Mali, Spain, Sweden and Laos as the next Cardinals. “It’s a gift from God,” Cardinal-designate Rosa Chavez, Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador, said in remarks to the media in El Salvador. Click here to read more information about the appointment.

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