Pope Francis officially decreed Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, a man who was killed in 1980 because of his Catholic faith, is now a martyr. The pontiff’s declaration of martyrdom begins the process of Romero’s eventual beatification into sainthood.

There is no immediate date set for Romero's beatification, according to The Associated Press.

The Catholic Church has traditionally restricted the title of martyr to people who were killed out of a hatred for the faith. The case of Romero had problems as there were questions as to whether he was killed because of politics or because of faith.

While celebrating mass, Romero, a human rights campaigner, was shot by right-wing death squads. During El Salvador’s civil war, which lasted from 1980-1992, the Archbishop known for speaking out against repression was brought down by the Salvadoran army.

The civil war between the right-wing government and leftist rebels resulted in nearly 75,000 deaths. Romero’s assassination was an early and high-profile casualty in the conflict.

There have been political impediments in the way of Romero's sainthood. Romero had a perceived association with liberation theology, a Latin American-inspired Catholic theology that promotes the tenets Jesus' teachings require Christians to fight for social and economic justice. At the time, wary of associations with Marxism, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger set forth a crackdown on liberation theology.

Although Pope Francis was never taken with the liberation theology, he has shown sympathies for social justice when it comes to the poor and the marginalized.

This past summer, Pope Francis said the case of Romero’s martyrdom had for some time been "blocked out of prudence," but it was now "unblocked."

Official martyrs can approach the first step to possible sainthood without a miracle being attributed to their actions. In terms of canonization, a miracle is required.

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