Bishop Medardo Gómez. Photo: David Caceres del Castillo
Salvadoran Lutheran Church mourns the loss of former bishop Medardo Gómez
Lutherans in El Salvador are mourning the loss of their former Bishop Medardo Gómez Soto, who was renowned throughout Latin America and beyond as a powerful advocate for peace and human rights.
"Bishop Medardo Gómez was an outstanding leader in his church, in Central America and in the wider Lutheran and ecumenical communion," said Rev. Sonia Skupch, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Regional Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean. "He was a wise man, faithful to the Gospel, with a clear commitment to justice and peace, and a man who was not afraid to speak of mercy and peace in very turbulent times."
Born in 1945, Gómez trained at the Augsburg Lutheran Seminary in Mexico, before returning to his native El Salvador to begin his ministry in 1972. During the years that preceded the outbreak of armed conflict, he became known as a prophetic voice for justice, a fact that led to his kidnapping and torture alongside other prominent human rights defenders.
The legacy and the memory of Bishop Gómez will live on.
Rev. Sonia Skupch, LWF Regional Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean
During the late 1970s, he fostered dialogue with the majority Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist in March 1980. Gómez was also on a hit list of targets and narrowly escaped from the death squads after he was forced into exile for two months, staying with friends in the United States.
In 1986, he was consecrated as the first bishop of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church, a post he held until January 2025. With a vision rooted in Latin America’s liberation theology, he was an outspoken voice on behalf of the country’s poorest communities, a commitment which earned him several nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. During the final decade of his ministry, he established an innovative program to support socially marginalized youth in a context of continuing conflict and widespread gang violence.
Regional Secretary Skupch said: "The legacy and the memory of Bishop Gómez will live on forever. His understanding of theology and of the church's witness in favor of life has marked generations and will continue to do so." Bishop Gómez died on 27 March at the age of 79.
