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On Saturday 23rd May, thirty five years after his assassination, Oscar Romero will be beatified in El Salvador, a significant step on his path to being declared a saint 

One of the great inspirational figures of the Catholic church from the last century, the archbishop was shot as he celebrated mass.

The previous day, appalled by mounting human rights abuses, he had uttered a passionate appeal to the military:  ‘In the name of God, and in the name of the suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I beg you, I implore you, I order you in the name of God, stop the repression.’

El Salvador today is one of the world’s most violent countries, and we explore Oscar Romero’s legacy both there and internationally; and we also look at the significance of beatification.

Roy Jenkins is joined by: Julian Filochowski who worked with the archbishop and chairs of the UK-based Archbishop Romero Trust; Dr Mo Hume, senior lecturer in politics at Glasgow University. She lived in El Salvador for a number of years, and returns regularly; Fr. Nick James, a Catholic parish priest in Monmouth; and the Rev. Dr. Craig Gardiner, tutor in Christian Doctrine at the South Wales Baptist College.