Rutilio Grande, S.J., and his two traveling companions, 15-year-old Nelson Rutilio Lemus and 72-year-old Manuel Solórzano, had been driving to the small town of El Paisnal in El Salvador when they were gunned down on the road on March 12, 1977, in Aguilares, El Salvador. The Vatican announced on Feb. 22, 2021, that it would recognize the three as martyrs.  America.