Manuel Solórzano

In Aguilares, the life of Manuel Solórzano was deeply marked by his Christian faith and his ecclesial commitment. He became an extremely active member of the local parish, involving himself particularly in evangelization and catechetical efforts. It was within this parish framework that he met the Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande García, who was appointed pastor of Aguilares in 1972. Inspired by the pastoral dynamism of Father Grande, who implemented the orientations of the Second Vatican Council and the Medellín Conference in favor of the poorest, Manuel Solórzano committed himself actively at his side. He became a close and devoted collaborator of the priest, regularly accompanying him on his pastoral visits to the peasant communities (campesinos). As a catechist and committed layman, he participated in the animation of the base ecclesial communities, contributing to awakening the spiritual and social conscience of the faithful in a context of strong political oppression and glaring inequalities.

On March 12, 1977, Father Rutilio Grande was to travel to San José, a village in the municipality of El Paisnal, to celebrate Mass and continue the novena in preparation for the feast of Saint Joseph. Manuel Solórzano, then 72 years old, and a young teenager from the parish, Nelson Rutilio Lemus (15 or 16 years old), accompanied him in his car (a Safari jeep-type vehicle), alongside three young children. Halfway there, in the middle of the sugarcane fields, the vehicle fell into an ambush set by armed men, identified as members of death squads or security forces of the military regime. The attackers riddled the car with bullets. In a final act of courage and charity, Manuel Solórzano attempted to protect Father Rutilio and young Nelson with his own body. He was struck by ten projectiles, which nearly tore off one of his arms. The three men died instantly, while the three children in the back managed to escape and their lives were spared. The bodies of the three martyrs were brought back to the church in Aguilares and placed before the altar. The Archbishop of San Salvador, Msgr. Óscar Romero, a close friend of Father Grande, immediately went to the site to keep vigil over the bodies and celebrate the funeral Mass. This triple assassination deeply shook Msgr. Romero; it is historically considered the moment of his "conversion" or at least the trigger for his public and radical commitment against state violence, which would lead him to his own martyrdom in 1980.

The cause for the beatification of Manuel Solórzano was introduced jointly with that of Father Rutilio Grande and the young Nelson Rutilio Lemus. After obtaining the nihil obstat from the Holy See, the diocesan inquiry into their lives and martyrdom was conducted within the Archdiocese of San Salvador. On February 21, 2020, Pope Francis signed the decree officially recognizing the martyrdom of Manuel Solórzano and his companions, who were killed in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei). This recognition dispensed with the requirement of a miracle for beatification. The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on January 22, 2022, in the Plaza del Divino Salvador del Mundo in San Salvador. It was presided over by Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador, acting as the special delegate of Pope Francis. During this same celebration, the Italian Franciscan missionary Cosme Spessotto, also murdered in El Salvador in 1980, was raised to the honors of the altar.

Manuel Solórzano embodies the figure of the Christian layperson whose faith is translated into a daily and concrete commitment to the service of the Church and social justice. His simple life as a father and worker shows that holiness and the supreme witness of martyrdom are not reserved for clergy or religious alone, but are accessible to all the baptized. During the beatification, Cardinal Rosa Chávez emphasized that Manuel Solórzano and the young Nelson Lemus represent this "immense multitude" of anonymous martyrs and victims of the Salvadoran Civil War. Pope Francis, receiving pilgrims from El Salvador in October 2022, recalled that martyrs are a "free gift from the Lord" and that their shed blood constitutes a mystical union with the sacrifice of Christ, inviting the universal Church to be inspired by their witness of justice and love.