Did the Archbishop really die when he was shot celebrating mass in the Cathedral of San Silva, a Portuguese-speaking republic of Central America? Or did he disappear by miracle to appear again in the hinterland jungle of Silva Muruayama, to preach again his faith and revolution theology; or, a third possibility, did he really never die, but recover and was saved by his supporters? If he was still alive, he would be a threat not only to the Vatican, but the ruling joint dictators, Massolo and Hermione Cumba.
Free and able to continue his vision and mission as a practising Archbishop in the jungle and sierra, his continuing existence is both a threat to Rome and the Republic, so both want him out of the way for different reasons. A priest is sent from the Vatican to track him down and silence him forever, while Hermione Cumba sets herself to lead the expeditions to find him and bring him back to San Silva.
The English journalist Kerri Wyatt, who reported the assassination at the outset, is also keen to find him and determine whether 'The Archbishop' still at large is the real one, or an impostor.
The liberation theology of Archbishop Oscar Romero, now a saint, is the inspiration for this exotic and often comic evocation. The many-sided religious fable explores and searches for aspects of religious truth, mystery, and paradox in our present-day chaos of beliefs. It is not meant to be taken in any way as historically accurate.
