Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, the Church’s first cardinal from El Salvador, was a close collaborator and friend of Saint Óscar Romero and is committed to social justice work.

Born on September 3, 1942, in Sociedad, El Salvador, Rosa Chávez completed his philosophical and theological studies at the San José de la Montaña Central Seminary in San Salvador from 1962 to 1964 and 1966 to 1969. He furthered his education at the progressive Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, from 1973 to 1976, obtaining a licentiate in social communication.

Ordained as a priest on January 24, 1970, Rosa Chávez served in various roles within the Church. He was appointed as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of San Salvador on July 3, 1982, a position he held until his retirement on October 4, 2022.

Rosa Chávez first met Saint Óscar Romero, the slain Archbishop of San Salvador, around 1956 and worked for him after completing his philosophical studies. The cardinal has been a vocal advocate for Romero’s canonization and attended his beatification in 2015.

In a surprising move, Pope Francis elevated Rosa Chávez to the rank of cardinal on June 28, 2017, making him the first cardinal from El Salvador. The appointment was unusual as Rosa Chávez was only an auxiliary bishop at the time. He visited Romero’s tomb shortly after receiving news of his elevation.

Throughout his career, Rosa Chávez has been outspoken about government abuses and social issues. He has been a critic of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele’s harsh measures against gang members, arguing that the means do not justify the ends. He has opposed the Salvadoran government’s “state of exception” that allows for the mass incarceration of suspected gang members without due process, and has expressed concern about innocent young men being detained mistakenly and the dehumanizing treatment of prisoners.

Rosa Chávez has faced challenges due to his outspoken nature. During El Salvador’s 1979-1992 civil war, he strongly criticized government abuses and publicly identified alleged killers of six Jesuits, which led to him being labeled a “communist priest” and receiving death threats. Overall, he has been critical of both left-wing and right-wing politics in El Salvador, calling the country “politically contaminated” and criticizing political violence from all sides.

He has been described as having “carefully balanced opinions on controversial topics such as gang warfare, abortion and poverty.”

Throughout his career, Cardinal Rosa Chávez has remained committed to the principles of social justice and the legacy of Saint Óscar Romero, often advocating for the poor and marginalized in El Salvador.

Besides his native Spanish, Cardinal Rosa Chávez speaks French and has a general knowledge of English, Portuguese, and Italian.