Today marks the 31st anniversary of the loss of four courageous women – Sr. Maura Clarke M.M., Jean Donovan, Sr. Ita Ford, M.M., and Sr. Dorothy Kazel, O.S.U. who were murdered in El Salvador on December 2, 1980, while serving as missionaries during a very tumultuous period in the history of the Americas.
Without too much research one can find that the churchwomen were greatly impacted by their time in El Salvador. Each of them, in their own manner reflected on the challenging situation around them but more importantly the power of the relationships they developed with the people to whom they ministered. This power was grounded in their belief that God was present in their Salvadoran brother and sister. And it was this belief that kept them in El Salvador even when it became very clear that they were living in grave danger.
I would invite you to reflect on two often published quotations by Jean and Sr. Ita below.
If you feel moved, feel free to share how these quotations resonate in your own life. Do they spark a memory of an experience you have had with the economically poor or the marginalized that has impacted you?
“Several times I have decided to leave El Salvador. I almost could except for the children, the poor bruised victims of this insanity. Who would care for them? Whose heart could be so staunch as to favor the reasonable thing in a sea of their tears and loneliness? Not mine, dear friend, not mine.” –Jean Donovan
“I hope you can come to find that which gives life a deep meaning for you, something that energizes you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead.” -Ita Ford in a letter to her sixteen year old niece
Christopher Kerr
Chris is the executive director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network. Prior to coming to ISN he served as the Coordinator of Social Justice Initiatives & Immersion Experiences in John Carroll University’s Campus Ministry office. Chris also has experience at the secondary and elementary education levels. He has traveled internationally and speaks regular on topics including social justice education and advocacy, fair trade, and economic justice. Kerr received a B.A. in elementary education and M.A. in education administration from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.
Latest posts by Christopher Kerr (see all)
- An Interview: Fair Trade Colleges & Universities Movement – June 13, 2013
- Child Labor – I am a worker – June 12, 2013
- Salvadoran Jesuit Martyr Rutilio Grande: Thomas Kelly – May 28, 2013
