Report by Julian Fiochowski - Chair of the Archbishop Romero Trust

I travelled with Jan Graffius to San Salvador on Friday 28th September and we travelled back the following Friday 5th October. We stayed at the Capital Hotel close to the UCA. The six days were filled with work on the conservation of the relics of Archbishop Romero at the Hospitalito and those of the Jesuit martyrs in the Sala de Los Martires at the Romero Centre at the UCA; also with various meetings in relation to the canonisation process and visits to the pilgrimage places to orientate Jan.

It proved, I believe, to be a very valuable visit and was greatly appreciated by the Carmelite Sisters caring for Romero’s little house inside the Divine Providence Cancer Hospital as a timely follow-up to our Archbishop Romero Trust’s work in renovating the little residence and installing air conditioning and blinds in time for the silver jubilee celebrations of 2005. Jan spent about two days in all at the Hospitalito and examined everything being preserved and on display; she photographed everything; she found mould developing on some of the clothing and especially on the cassocks of Monsenor Romero hanging on display there; she cleaned and rearranged many of the exhibits and gave some preliminary advice to the Sisters to ensure better conservation. She is preparing a full report on what further measures need to be taken and what simple procedures need to be followed which we will forward in Spanish to the Superior, Sister Maria Julia Garcia. (I expect a major recommendation will be to keep the air-conditioning actually switched on with the automatic temperature control rather than attempting to save money, as they seem to be doing, by switching it off when the house is closed up)

The visit was perhaps even more appreciated by the Jesuits at the Monsenor Romero Centre at the UCA where Jan also spent more than two days working through the exhibits and examining a room-full of other relics, papers and belongings of the six martyred Jesuits. There were more worrying problems at the UCA with not only mould but infestations of silver fish and wood worm. They have no air-conditioning but they do have a huge humidity problem for at least half of the year. Jan once more did a lot of work in cleaning up the cases and repositioning many of the relics and offered some first simple advice to the Centre staff - and has promised a full report with recommendations and photographs for them too.

In neither location was there any very serious damage being done right now - either by the mould or the infestations; but if measures are not taken soon to alter the environment and the way in which the displays are presented and hung then some of the relics, most particularly those clothes/vestments stained with blood which they were wearing at the time of their respective killings, will in all likelihood become seriously, and possibly irreparably, damaged. Both the Sisters and the Jesuits were anxious that we return to assist them carry through the measures and ensuring that the relics at both sites are simply but properly conserved and protected.

There was unfortunately no time for Jan to visit the archives of Romero’s papers in the Archdiocese’s offices but they are in exactly the same unsatisfactory location as they were two years ago. The diocesan archivist was anxious for our assistance and advice to ensure the necessary protection of these elements of Romero’s life and work. The archive is sadly under-resourced and 18th century documents are disintegrating before one’s eyes in the crude storage areas available.

We concluded that a further visit in the first quarter of 2008 would be highly desirable to follow through from this visit and to assist in securing the relics for the future.

There is a report on Independent Catholic News today of Jan’s work in San Salvador - attached for your information. This seems to be based on a piece which Jan has written for the Stonyhurst College website which has pictures from the visit http://www.stonyhurst.ac.uk/article_996.shtml and which you may like to visit.