For newly appointed Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, the time is right to revive Romero’s legacy in a country still battered by violence and poverty.

Salvadorans plan to walk more than 90 miles in three days to mark the centennial of Blessed Oscar Romero's birth.

The Vatican urged Maduro "to suspend ongoing initiatives such as the new Constituent Assembly, which, rather than fostering reconciliation and peace, encourages a climate of tension and confrontation and mortgages the future."

In a statement, the Archbishop Oscar Romero U.S. Centennial Commission said it invites churches "to honor Blessed Romero by including a petition or other remembrance during Assumption Day Masses."

"The bishops are unanimous in their rejection of this new assembly, and we are asking the government to reconsider," Cardinal Urosa told Venezuela news station Globovision the day before the vote.

Electoral authorities said more than 8 million people voted Sunday to create a constitutional assembly endowing President Nicolas Maduro's ruling party with virtually unlimited powers—a figure widely disputed by independent analysts.