Mourners in plaza during funeral mass for Archbishop Romero

Archbishop Oscar Romero was an outspoken human rights advocate who called for the liberation of Salvadorans from poverty and oppression. His persistent appeals for reform and an end to violence were perceived as a threat to the military, and on March 24, 1980, he was assassinated by a sharpshooter while saying mass in a hospital chapel. His funeral drew over 80,000 mourners, 39 of whom died when explosion and gunfire disrupted the crowd.